Holding On
by ravenclawfma
Summary: After escaping Gluttony's stomach, Edward Elric finds himself at a strange place called Hogwarts. On top of the overwhelming stress of finding a way home, Ed is faced with a mysterious prophecy and many interesting adventures. Takes place during The Half-Blood Prince, with elements added from the FMA:B universe. No pairings, but implied EdWin.
1. Truth

**Truth**

Disclaimer: I do not own HP or FMA

* * *

" _The body and the soul are connected to one another by the mind. A portion of my body now hurdles towards the portal of truth... so there's no point in me struggling. I have to let my mind guide me... into the portal."_

Edward Elric saw all of his memories and thoughts swirl around him as he plummeted towards the Portal of Truth. He had just been swallowed by the Homunculus named Gluttony, and managed to create a very powerful transmutation circle to escape, using the souls from Xerxes as payment. Ed was obviously very upset by this, but deep down he knew it was what he had to do in order to get back to the real world to get his brother, Alphonse, back to his normal body.

After what seemed like forever, Ed crashed through the doors of the Gate of Truth. Immediately, he noticed that something was different, as there were two gates on either side of him. Confused, he turned around and was greeted with something he thought he would never see , his brother's body. Ed was devastated to find out that he couldn't retrieve Al's body, because his soul was not there. He screamed for his brother to wait for him, and that he was coming back no matter what. Although Ed was completely heartbroken, he had a newfound determination to get his brother his body back, because he knew it was still there.

The portal's eerie black hands grabbed at Edward, and yanked him back through the doors he hoped he would see in the near future. Expecting to emerge from Gluttony's stomach again, Ed didn't even think that something would go wrong. What he forgot was the fact that he just escaped from a "defective portal." With a bang, he crashed onto a moist surface, being greeted with immediate pain.

* * *

"Where the hell am I?" Ed groaned as he tried to push himself off the ground. Ling and Envy were no longer with him, so they must have made it back to Amestris okay. He tried to move his automail arm to push him up off the ground since his left arm was broken, but nothing happened. Ed tried to move his automail leg too, but still no effect.

"HEY!" he yelled, "IS ANYBODY THERE?" His eyes finally focused to the bright sky, and he was able to make out a huge castle towering above him.

 _"I guess I have no choice..."_ Ed thought to himself. He slowly picked himself up with his broken arm, clenching his teeth from the pain. He steadied himself on his right foot, and tried to hop to the castle for help and direction. After a few feet he fell down again and sighed. This went on for many attempts until he finally just collapsed from exhaustion. He glanced to his left and was able to make out a huge lake, and saw a rather strange looking tree to his right... almost as if it were moving. A few minutes passed and suddenly an extremely hairy man who looked like a giant ran towards Ed. He carried him into the castle, all the way to a hospital wing, gasping for breath once he arrived.

"Help!" the large man said, "this strange boy was collapsed on the field, and we dunno where he came from!"

As Ed's consciousness began fading away, he saw multiple figures placing him into a bed and giving him treatment. Did he just see _sparks_ come out of a stick? " _Wow,"_ he thought, _"I really am going crazy."_

A/N: This fanfic is based on Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood but is obviously an alternate storyline after Ed went through the portal. I hope you enjoy, and please leave feedback so I can improve this story as much as I can along the way!


	2. Recovery

**Recovery**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

Edward awoke to see a rather old looking nurse looking down at him. "What the hell..." he groaned as he tried to sit up on the bed he was placed on. His left arm felt brand new, but his automail still didn't work.

"Hey old lady!" Ed yelled, "Where am I and what just happened?!" The nurse looked a bit shocked at Ed's insult, but replied anyway.

"You're in the hospital wing at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We found you passed out on the grounds, and now we're trying to get you back to health."

"Witches and wizards?" Ed scoffed. "Yeah right! Everyone knows that fairy tales like those don't exist, the only thing remotely close to that is alchemy!" After mentioning alchemy, he suddenly remembered where he just came from, and that his brother must be having a terrible time looking for him. "Even though I'd like to stay and chat, I'd really like to get going," he said as he tried to get out of bed.

"You aren't going anywhere," the nurse harshly said. "Not until we find out exactly who you are and where you came from. People don't just appear on Hogwarts grounds, and for all we know you could be one of You-Know-Who's spies! I'd also like to know what's up with your rather... interesting metal limbs you have there," she said.

Ed scowled and saw two figures whispering in the back of the room, one looked like an old man with a huge beard and the other looked like a miserable man with extremely greasy hair. The greasy haired man left the room with a scowl in on his face, and the older man approached Ed's bed.

"I'm the headmaster of this school, Albus Dumbledore, and if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions," he carefully stated.

Ed sighed and then began to explain as much as he could while still holding back important details. He told Dumbledore that he was from Amestris, a place they had never heard of, and explained how he was an alchemist. He made up a story about how he was accidentally thrown through a portal after trying some advanced alchemy, and that he lost his limbs in an accident as a child from a Civil War near his hometown. He wasn't ready to tell all these random people the truth. For all he knew they were a bunch of crazy people wearing crazy clothes, and the idea of magic was insane to him as well. What power can you have without equivalent exchange?

"Well Edward, that is a very interesting story you have there," Dumbledore stated. "I have dabbled in the art of alchemy myself, although it is a bit of a lost practice here. Since you have no idea how to get home, I suppose we can set you up as a student here until we have more information. Alchemy is close enough to wizardry, so you shouldn't have a problem with the classes here. A small boy like yourself shouldn't have to be dealing with this many issues..."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE HIM UNDER A MAGNIFYING GLASS?!" Ed screamed with fury. "IM 16 YOU OLD MAN!"

Dumbledore just chuckled, and softly said. "Forgive me, I'll put you with the 6th years. I won't tell anyone about what you said either, and I'll keep everything between us. We can just pretend you are an exchange student while we try to sort things out to get you home."

Ed sighed with relief at this, although the last thing he wanted to do was be stuck at some "magic school" while he had duties to attend to. He just hoped Al was okay and would understand later. "Hey Dumbledore, do you know anything I can do about my automail? It stopped working once I appeared at the castle, and I can't really do anything without it."

"Automail huh? Is that what those spectacular metals limbs you have are called? Dumbledore asked in amazement. "I believe anything mechanical that involves electric reactions stop working at Hogwarts, but I have a spell that should eliminate the barrier and let you use your limbs as easy as before."

Ed still didn't believe these weird people were "magic," but there was really nothing he could do about it now. Dumbledore got out a stick that Ed assumed was a "wand" and tapped his arm and leg with it. He tried to move them again and they worked like brand new, with some of the old scratches and dents smoothing out as well. _How the hell did this old man do that? There was no equivalent exchange!_ A brilliant idea suddenly formed in Ed's mind. _Maybe this is the answer! I can study magic as much as I can while I'm here, and try to find a way to get our bodies back without a Philosopher's Stone!_

 _"_ Ah so it worked!" sighed Dumbledore with relief. "School begins in two days, but us teachers are just preparing everything before the students arrive. You are welcome to stay here until then, and I suggest you look through some school books in your spare time. I will place you in Gryffindor house, because you seem to be extremely brave and courageous, from everything you have seem to have been through. I truly hope you enjoy your time here at Hogwarts!" smiled Dumbledore.

Ed still didn't really know what was going on, but he decided to roll with it. After all, how often does someone have the chance to study magic?

A/N: Please leave feedback as I'd be glad to hear it, and thank you for your help! :)


	3. Knowledge

**Knowledge**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

With his two free days, Ed had plenty of time to explore the vast Hogwarts library. He really wished that Al was beside him to help with research, and he knew his brother would love to see all the amazing surroundings of the castle. It was something Ed could only imagine out of a fairy tale, with moving staircases and paintings, and spells that seemed to be placed everywhere. The library had very few books on alchemy, as it's considered a lost art to the wizarding world, and all the alchemy books that he did find were pointless and made up. ' _Damn it! I'll never get back home the way this is going...'_ Ed thought as he sighed to himself. He decided to move on to studying magic, since he'd have no choice but to stay in this school until he could figure out how to get back through the portal. He could make another transmutation circle, but he had nothing to offer up in exchange for the toll to make it through the gate. What did he have that could have equal value for another way back? Ed also didn't abandon the idea of getting his brother his body back while he went through the portal again, but there was no way he could return Al's soul to his body like he asked. He was stumped, but refused to give up.

The day before the students arrived, Ed received his school uniform and all his school supplies he would need. ' _Wow... and I thought the military uniform was bad!'_ He thought as he groaned at the strange clothing. Robes? Really? Not long after, one of the teachers Ed didn't recognize told him that Dumbledore would like to see him in his office. Interrupted from his research again, Ed let out an audible groan as he tried to find the old man's office. The paintings stared him down like he was a maniac as he passed through the halls, and the silence of the castle created an even more tense mood.

Luckily, Ed was granted access into Dumbledore's office, (what was up with that moving statue anyway?) and he stepped into a room filled with amazing and complex trinkets and devices.

"What do you want? I can't waste time from my research in the library!" Ed sharply spoke.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience," Dumbledore spoke with a glisten in his eyes, "but there are a few things we need to make clear before tomorrow. Here is your schedule of all the courses you shouldn't have trouble with using your alchemy. I believe that you are intelligent enough to find out alternative ways to accomplish your goals with another source of energy." Ed took the schedule and saw classes that looked completely foreign to him. Potions, charms, defense against the dark arts, and transfiguration? He supposed those weren't too strange for a school that specialized in magic. "I will alert professor McGonagall about your situation. She is head of Gryffindor house, and can help you with anything you need while I'm not around. I will continue to try to help you in your current situation, but there isn't much I can do until I know all the details."

Ed nodded to Dumbledore to show he understood and left the peculiar room. He continued his studies in the library until midnight, and finally decided to get some sleep for the first day of "school" he would have tomorrow. Ever since Ed studied with Teacher, he had no experience with something like school, and even then he wasn't in a classroom. He approached the portrait of the fat lady, and said the password Dumbledore told him the previous day. He still wasn't used to such strange security measures, but apparently it was the way things were done here. There were beds for students Ed didn't know in his dormitory, Harry, Ron, Neville, Seamus, and Dean. He really wasn't looking forward to sharing a room with other people, and thought up all the good witty remarks he could snap at them when he met them. Drifting asleep, Ed thought of his brother and everything he left behind in Amestris. His thoughts faded from good memories to all his traumatic experiences as he fell asleep, something that usually happened when he was separated from his brother. Tomorrow was going to be a loooong day.

Ed awoke fairly late, but still had some time to study before dinner. After a few hours he checked his State Alchemist pocket watch, noticing that he missed the first 10 minutes of the feast! ' _Crap! How the hell am I supposed to go to the feast unnoticed now?! Everyone will see me when I walk in!'_ Not excited about the attention he was about to get from all these teenagers, Ed ran down the flights of moving stairs and eventually found the giant doors to the great hall. ' _Here goes nothing...'_ Ed opened the doors and found that there were four tables filled with students wearing different colored robes. Many of them looked at him with confused looks, but nonetheless, he walked over to the table with the Gryffindors and tried to act perfectly normal. He sat near a bunch of kids with red hair, a girl with bushy brown hair, and a boy with messy black hair and glasses. They looked the least intimidating out of everyone.

"Who the bloody hell are you? I haven't seen you before in my life!" said one of the red haired boys.

Before he lost his temper, Ed calmly tried to answer. "I'm an exchange student, this is my first year at this school, and I'm a sixth year apparently." He then shifted his gaze towards the monstrous piles of various foods all around him on the table, suddenly realizing how hungry he was.

"Oh... well that's cool mate! I look forward to seeing you around. I'm Ron Weasley, this here is Hermione Granger, and this other boy is Harry Potter, but I'm sure you've heard of him before." Ron chuckled.

Between mouthfuls of food, Ed replied, "I can't say I have, I really don't know anything about anyone here."

Ron looked a bit shocked, but then carried on to a hushed conversation with his friends, Harry and Hermione. Ed glanced up towards the table at the front of the room, and it appeared to have all the teachers at it. There was a speech from Dumbledore and a few other teachers, but Ed didn't really pay attention. He was too busy eating, and when he saw a giant apple pie, he couldn't help but to think about Winry and Mrs. Hughes.

A/N: Now that school has started and Ed has briefly met the golden trio, the pace will begin to pick up. Please notice that this is a completely alternate story from Fullmetal Alchemist from here on out, and some things will obviously be different in the Potter universe as well. Please leave feedback, and I'm trying my best to update as much as I can! I have some really exciting things in store... ;)


	4. Shield

**Shield**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

Ed woke up the next day to a quiet common room. He looked out at the sky, and it was still pitch black. ' _I guess I'm still not used to the time here.'_ He sighed and decided to get dressed into his uniform, at least nobody would see his automail this way. He'd have to keep it a secret, because they'll think something is up if he has weird "futuristic" limbs that don't belong in this world. He put on a pair of white gloves, and plopped down into one of the armchairs downstairs. He had nothing better to do than think, which led to a stupid yet helpful idea.

' _Although I have no way of actually sending them, I think that writing letters to Al might help me keep track of everything and stay somewhat sane. Who knows, maybe he will get to read them some day.'_ He instantly began a letter to Al, trying his best to make it sound like everything was okay.

 _Alphonse,_  
 _I know you must be worried, but I'm doing okay here. I'm going to keep studying magic so I can try to find a way home with enough equivalent exchange. Make sure to yell at the Colonel Bastard while I'm gone, because at least someone has to do it. Winry too, and try to avoid all the wrenches she might throw at you in my place! This school is really fantastic, and I wish you could be here. The paintings and staircases move, and I think I saw a few cats walking around..._  
 _Your favorite brother,_  
 _Edward_

It made Ed feel extremely better to act like everything was okay, and his friends and brother was right around the corner from him. He put his letter into his trunk, wishing there was a way for him to send it. Eventually more of the students began waking up, and the girl Ed thought was called Hermione approached him.

"Hi! I just wanted to know what your schedule is, so we can see if we have any of the same classes. We can show you around, because it's definitely easy to get lost here. I did plenty of times my first year here!"

"Thanks." Ed replied. He handed Hermione his schedule and her face lit up with delight.

"Wow! We have the exact same schedule! Defense against the dark arts first, so we can walk together! It stinks to have _Snape_ teaching the first class you have. He's the _worst_ teacher here by the way, you'll know right when you see him."

Ed nodded in reply and smiled back, with a bit of an evil look in his eyes. Finally, someone he could yell insults at that wasn't the Colonel. They left through the portrait hole (still weird) and made their way down to the dungeons. Ed kept to himself, because he didn't really know how to interact with teenagers. He did, however, see more students he wanted to punch right in the face. An arrogant boy with blonde hair and green robes passed and sneered at them, and Ed knew that he was an idiot just by looking at him.

They made it to the classroom, and Hermione called over Ed to sit with her, obviously seeing a bit of confusion in his face. Before no time, the teacher with very greasy hair that Ed saw in the hospital wing entered, _oh so it's THAT guy._ Snape looked at Ed directly in the eyes, and then scowled at Harry. He began talking about he dark arts, almost like they were to be admired, and then mentioned that they would split into pairs to do non-verbal spells. That seemed extremely easy to Ed, because as an alchemist you don't have to use words anyway. However, he would probably watch a few students first.

"Ahh.." Snape sneered "It looks like we have a little alchemist student in our midst. Let's see how good he can counteract spells..."

Ed flinched at the "little" comment, and his eye was already twitching with fury. Two minutes with this guy and he already hated him! All the students broke into pairs, and since Ron was with Harry, Hermione suggested she work with Ed.

"So how does alchemy work anyway? Do you use a wand? Or is it stuff like turning lead into gold?" she asked.

Ed just realized how _nobody_ knew anything about alchemy here, and sighed a response. "With alchemy you don't use a wand, and it isn't magic either. It's a science, transmuting elements together into different forms, using equivalent exchange. Turning lead into gold works... but it's highly illegal where I'm from. It messes up the economy, ya know?"

Hermione nodded with a pure look of amazement in her eyes. "I'd love to hear more about it later, alchemy sounds really interesting! I'm going to try a nonverbal spell, and if you think you can, try something to counteract that spell." She focused, put forward her "wand," and did a little flicking motion. Ed has already been calculating formulas in his head, trying to think of what could shield or absorb a magic spell. Her spell rocketed towards Ed, and in a split moment he clapped his hands and touched them to the floor, creating a brilliant shield that surrounded him in blue light. He did this by transmuting the light in the air to be more solid and visible. The spell bounced off and hit Hermione, and she fell to the ground.

"Oops, sorry!" Ed called to her as she got up, looking even more amazed than before. Everyone was looking at Ed now, after all, he just did something that none of them have seen before.

"That was SO COOL!" Hermione gasped, as well as many other students. Snape definitely looked over in surprise, but continued walking around the class. He went up to Harry, and filled in Ron's place. He shot off a quick spell at Harry, and he yelled " _Protego!"_ Harry's shield charm had much of the same effect as Ed, and Snape fell tumbling down.

Snape instantly stood up, and scowled. "Do you remember me telling you we are practicing _nonverbal_ spells, Potter?"

Harry replied with a stiff "yes," and Snape shot right back with "Yes, _sir."_

 _"_ There's no need to call me 'sir,' Professor." Harry said without seeming to think first. Ed tried to hold back a snicker, as this was the same type of sassy comment he'd give the Colonel. Harry got detention however, so apparently the sassy remarks you give at this school come with punishment as well. Ed was disappointed by this, but as he was leaving the room he still congratulated Harry on his comment. It looked like this school was going to be interesting after all.

A/N: Don't worry, I'll try to make the chapters longer from here, but I just wanted to introduce and establish the story first. Lots of fun things are coming! (This story is not just a follow of the book's plot don't worry)


	5. Potions

**Potions**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

After that whole Defense Against the Dark arts fiasco, the trio (plus Ed following behind) went to potions class. The professor seemed to make favorites according to Hermione, so Ed was glad he wouldn't get a lot of unwanted attention. As he entered, there were multiple bubbling cauldrons lining the room, and Ed instantly recognized them from the 5th and 6th potions books he read.

"Welcome, class!" Slughorn said as he entered the class. (He reminded Ed of some unpleasant memories of Gluttony.) Harry and Ron had to go and get supplies from the cupboard, but luckily Ed had all new supplies provided by Dumbledore. Ed could almost swear he smelled the metallic oil smell of his brother and the Automail shop in Resembool, and he also thought he smelled Winry's hair for a second... weird. Shifting his thoughts back to the real world, Ed saw Hermione answering every potion name.

"This one is Amortentia! It's supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us!" Ed flushed a little, he forgot about that one. After some more admiration of Hermione from Slughorn, he announced a contest for Felix Felicis, a potion that could make you lucky. _'I could really use that for a lot of things...'_ Ed was more determined than ever to win the contest, even though he wasn't a wizard. He got out his potion book and all his ingredients, and observed the elements that made up all of them. He was definitely getting a lot of strange looks, and even Slughorn looked puzzled at what he was doing, not knowing that he was an alchemist.

Ed looked over and saw Harry really struggling to read his book. The ones in the cupboard must have been really battered up. Nonetheless, he kept writing down the elements, and thought through everything with precision. After following the directions and putting the ingredients in the cauldron, Ed clapped and touched it, causing blue light to shine everywhere. Everyone instantly stopped focusing on their potions to look at Ed. Slughorn did a little "Oho!" and scurried over to Ed's cauldron.

He looked inside and dropped a fly in, seeing if the potion would have the correct effect. "Marvelous! How in Merlin's beard did you do that? I saw no wand!"

Ed smirked. "It was alchemy, I found the properties of each ingredient and then transmuted them together. It was pretty simple actually."

"So you must be the Edward Elric I've heard all about! Spectacular! Here you go, you deserve this Felix Felicis fair and square." He handed Ed the small bottle with the potion in it, and continued to look around the class. Grinning with satisfaction, Ed really wished he could brag to everyone back in the military how successful he was being, even in an alternate universe. Apparently Harry's potion earned him Felix Felicis too, and he looked just as satisfied. Hermione, on the other hand, looked defeated and disappointed, especially as they left.

"I expected Ed to be able to do it with his awesome alchemy, but how the heck did you manage to make a perfect potion Harry? I think that following scribbled notes is cheating and not right." She frowned and walked away, with a bit of anger in her step. Once they got back to the common room for a free period, the trio cautiously approached Ed as he was reading through all the textbooks.

"Not to be rude, but can you tell us about where you're from, and why you're here?" Harry asked. Ed looked up from his book, a little shocked at the sudden question, and tried to make something up on the spot.

"I'm from a country really far away, and you've probably never heard of it. I was the top student at my alchemy school, so they sent me here to try to learn and study magic too." He grinned with how impressed he was to come up with an answer like that, but the trio still looked pretty unsure of him.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Ed didn't really pay attention in his classes, and kept reading books about magic. He didn't care one bit about school, only the things that could help him get back to Amestris, or help him get his brother's body back. Time passed, and every day was the same, with Ed growing more and more impatient. Nothing new found, just pure frustration. Although he didn't talk to them much, the trio seemed worried about a lot of things too, and Harry seemed to disappear more than usual. The more time that went by, the more useless Ed felt, and he couldn't even imagine what his brother was going through. How would it feel thinking your brother was never coming home or is dead, and you had to be stuck in a suit of armor forever? Ed was tired of all the crap information he found, so he decided to take measures into his own hands. He was going to see Dumbledore.

"Acid pops," he said to the statue, revealing a wonderful rotating staircase. He neared the door, but heard a few voices. With his reputation of not giving a shit, Ed did just that, and went in the room anyways. Right ahead of him, he saw Harry and Dumbledore bent over some sort of stone basin. Although annoyed by it, he didn't want to intrude, so he stormed out of the room. How was he supposed to do something now? And what were Harry and Dumbledore up to? He was done with everything, and just collapsed onto his bed in the dormitory. He couldn't give up, but was very slowly starting to. To lift his mood, he decided to write another letter.

 _Alphonse,_  
 _I'm sorry I still haven't been able to come home. This place is driving me crazy, and I feel so useless to you. Hopefully the Homunculi aren't causing any trouble, and Scar has kept out of your way as well. Don't go doing anything reckless, since I'm not there to fix you. Stay strong brother, I'll figure it out soon._  
 _Ed_

He sighed and put the letter with all the rest, as a crazy idea popped into his head. What if he just snuck into the restriction section of the library at night? What did it matter if he got in trouble at this school?

As night came, Ed used his stealth skills to sneak out of the common room and make his way to the library. For once he was glad Al wasn't here, as he'd just make a lot of noise. The halls were empty, and the library was pitch black. He moved over the rope blocking his entry from the restricted section, and looked through the books. After searching for awhile, he found one titled _The Darkest Secrets of Alchemy_ and decided to start there. Not wanting to be caught, he transmuted another book in its place, and changed the cover of the one he just got. He took it back to the common room and began to read. This was just like the alchemy books he had at home, nothing interesting. He sighed and went back to bed, deciding to finish it the next day.

During a free period, Ed found himself back reading like usual. Harry and his friends were whispering about someone named "Malfoy," who Ed supposed was the daddy's boy with the blonde hair. He kept scanning the book, almost reaching the end, when something caught his eye. _A human transmutation circle, the same kind he used 5 years ago._ He had never seen one again since then, what was it doing in a school textbook? What if someone tried to use it, not knowing what it was? Ed's shock was replaced with anger, and the trio began to notice. Not caring what other people said, Ed ripped the page out of the book and threw it into the fire, then stormed back up to the room. He was still shaking, as memories from that day came swarming back to him. He held his head in his hands, and everything inside him cracked.

' _This is all my fault... this is all my fault... my brother is gone because of me, and now he can't even return to normal because of me. I'm a failure... a worthless person who can't even fix his own mistakes...'_


	6. October 3rd

**October 3rd**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

Ed remained in his dormitory for the rest of the night, and although he got a few looks, nobody dared to even approach him. The beams of the sun shone through the window, and Ed realized he had gone another sleepless night. He knew what day it was, October third. It was the day of overcoming his past and creating a new future for himself, a reminder for him to stay strong. He looked at his State Alchemist pocket watch, and observed the careful indents on the lid telling him to not forget the date. He immediately closed it and shook his head. ' _I'm not supposed to wallow around in my own self pity, I need to make myself stronger than ever and keep moving towards my goal.'_

With new determination in mind, Ed went to his first class of the day, potions, and actually tried to stay focused.

"Hey Ed, are you all right? You can talk to us anytime you know, we don't want something to be wrong." Hermione said with a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine... really I am. Just a bit of homesickness, that's all." Ed replied. He knew it was a lie, but he couldn't just tell them the truth, they'd think he was a crazy person!

Ed's potion came out flawless as usual, and his transmutations were just as powerful as before. Harry still looked at his book in confusion, but with also a bit of admiration. Maybe Ed wasn't the only one hiding something around here.

After trying his best to stay focused on his other classes, (which wasn't easy with Professor Binns) Ed made his usual dash to the library. After reading every alchemy book the school provided, (there wasn't many) he decided to move on to magic books. ' _If it all comes down to it, I guess I could give up my other leg in equivalent exchange, but Al would never forgive me for that, and I don't want to deal with any more stupid automail as it is.'_ After reading for a couple hours, the trio made their way back to him again.

"What are you always reading for?" Ron asked. "There's plenty of things to do outside... you could even watch us play Quidditch!"

"No thanks, this is important." Ed replied without looking up from his book. Hermione walked up behind him and started reading behind his back.

"If you told us what you were trying to find, we could actually help! Instead you act like you don't even need us!"

"I SAID I'M FINE!" Ed yelled while shutting his book with a snap. The trio all gasped in unison at this sudden outbreak. In almost an instant, he said back, "I'm sorry, that was out of line," and walked out of the room.

Hermione had seen this behavior many times before from Harry, especially the previous year, and knew it was terrible to keep it locked up. Maybe if she just found what he was looking for she could help him...

Later that day, Hermione knew what she had to do. Ed had fallen asleep with his face in a book in the common room, and all the other boys were playing a game of exploding snap. She snuck into the 6th year boys dormitory, hoping to find something of Ed's. She knew that it was wrong and she could lose a friend for it, but it was better than Ed always being depressed. She opened his trunk and looked in shock at what she found. _Letters,_ and tons of them. The weird thing was, they were all addressed to other people from Ed, not directly to him. She knew it was personal, but she opened one of them out of her trait of always being curious.

 _Alphonse,_  
 _I know that I've said this tons of times, but I'm sorry. I hope you don't blame me for what happened, as kids and when I disappeared. I think about you every day, don't worry, and I'm still trying to find a way to get myself back home. I know we're against this, but apparently the Philosopher's stones in the "magic world" aren't made the same way alchemy ones are. If I could just get one some how, it could be a straight ticket back home. Don't forget the reason that we burned down our home and left, to keep moving forward._  
 _Never give up,_  
 _Edward_

Hermione read the letter over and over, confused at what he meant. Why couldn't he get home? Couldn't he just use floo powder or apparate? And why did he need a Philosopher's stone? She thought that everyone knew that Dumbledore destroyed the only known one! She quickly put the letter back and scurried back to her own dorm. At least she knew what Ed was looking for, even if she didn't know why. One other thing stuck out in her head though. Who was Alphonse, and why would they burn down their own house?

* * *

The great hall had decorations all over it for the upcoming Halloween, a strange holiday that Ed had never heard of. He thought it looked super cool though, and wished he could show Al. He ate as much as he could for dinner that night, because he fell asleep and forgot lunch. ' _Damn it, I always hate when I miss meals. If there's an opportunity to eat good food then I'll take it! ... except milk.'_ With a new cheerful spring in his step from his great meal, Ed decided to take a walk through the castle to clear his thoughts on the way to his next class. He didn't care what he would face or who he would see, he only wanted to take in the surroundings. As he continued to the classroom, something caught his eye. There was a broom closet up ahead, but the door was shaking. _'Hmm... that's weird. This is Hogwarts, what could be so dangerous about a broom closet?'_ Ed continued to approach it, and opened the door.

All at once a huge spinning ball came out of it, and the confusion on Ed's face turned into utter horror. Before him was a giant human transmutation circle, and everything turned red. His eyes opened in shock, and he fell to the ground. A giant eye opened up in the middle, and small black arms began crawling out of the circle. Ed screamed in terror, "NO, NOT AGAIN!" He saw his brother at his side, as the hands grabbed him and he suddenly disappeared, screaming along the way. "ALPHONSE! NO... THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! IT'S ALL MY FAULT! IT'S ALL MY FAULT" The black mass in the center of the circle began moving towards him, but all Ed could do was sit in shock on his hands and knees, sobbing and shaking, while staring at what was supposed to be his mother and what used to be his brother.

 _"RIDDIKULUS!"_ a voice shouted from behind him. Ed didn't hear it, as he was still absorbed in the visuals that had just been ahead of him. He hadn't seen it since that day, only in his nightmares. Seeing it again in person was so painful to relive, even though it wasn't really happening. Ed could feel someone pick him up and start running, but he didn't notice. He was still shaking, with tears glistening on his face.

* * *

"Do you think he'll be alright?" asked a worried Ron. He had never seen someone react to a boggart that way, not even Harry. Right after Ed started yelling the whole class was practically behind him, and Dumbledore rushed ahead to preform the riddikulus charm.

"I don't know, I have no idea what that even was. Whatever it was, it sure was terrifying. I don't even want to know how that is Ed's greatest fear." answered Harry.

Hermione didn't say anything, and only thought about the letter that she read from Ed. She heard him scream the name Alphonse, the same person the letter was addressed to. Ed definitely didn't seem like an exchange student anymore, but something much more. Maybe they could learn more about him by actually becoming his friend, instead of spying on him. He must have some other purpose for being here...

* * *

Ed opened his eyes to see the walls of the hospital wing as he recollected what just happened. He had read something about boggarts in the library, but in the moment it hadn't even crossed his mind. He closed his eyes again, not wanting to be bothered by life, but Dumbledore had something else in mind.

"Edward," he calmly said, "I know you might not want to talk about this now, but I have something I need to tell you, I wouldn't feel right keeping it from you." Ed stared with a puzzled look, where was this going?

"I know what your boggart was, and I know many more things about you as well."

"WHAT?!" Ed yelled in fury. Was this old guy actually serious?

"When you arrived here, I had to use a bit of Legilimency to see if you were a threat or not. Nobody has ever just appeared on Hogwarts grounds before. I only intended to see where you were from, but what I saw was much different. It seemed as though you were trying to bring back your mother, but it went wrong. I know about how you joined the military at such a young age, and how you'd do anything to get your brother back, is that correct?"

Ed stared in shock, and then angrily stood up from his bed and stormed out of the room. ' _UNBELIEVABLE! How could he know that? I thought I could at least somewhat trust the people here, but I was completely wrong, like usual.'_

"DAMN IT!" he yelled on his way out of the castle. He punched a wall with his right hand and it left a dent, but he didn't care. He kept walking until he reached the same place he appeared at.

 _'C'mon, there has to be some way for me to go back!'_ He kept searching, but to no avail. Exhausted, he sat back in the grass and stared at the sunset. _'I could really use your company right now Al.'_

Night fell and Ed stayed laying in the grass, thinking about how similar it looked to Resembool. He had nowhere else to go, and his only option was to stay at Hogwarts. Sighing, he sauntered back into the common room and prepared for another day of the same old routine.

 _'Maybe it wouldn't hurt to make a couple of friends...'_

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, viewed, and favorited this story! I uploaded it yesterday and I already feel so overwhelmed and happy with the results :) As for this chapter, I really don't know what to think. I wrote it expecting to leave a really strong mark, but I don't really know if it did that. Was it really generic sounding, or did it actually create an impact to the story? I would love to hear more feedback, so I can improve and help anything that needs it. Thanks! ;)


	7. Friendship

**Friendship**

Disclaimer: I do not own HP or FMA

The following day, Edward tried his hardest to have a cheerier mood, and act more friendly towards the other students. They began to catch on though, and started to think there was something seriously wrong with him. Apparently a one day mood shift, especially after the traumatic event that just happened, was strange. He didn't care though, because once people started to get used to his more chipper attitude, they gave him less attention. It was cruel, but he thought that by making friends, especially with the trio, he could gain more information about magic that might not be in library books.

"Can I sit here today?" Ed asked to Harry Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table. They seemed to have a lot of things that they were hiding as well, so at least the gradual opening up to some secrets wouldn't be one sided. Equivalent exchange, Ed supposed.

"Sure! You seem rather happy today, did you score well on a test or something?" Hermione asked.

"Life doesn't revolve around tests Hermione," Ron commented.

"Actually," Ed interrupted, "I just decided that it would be rather gloomy to spent my time here by myself all the time. Although I've always had my head stuck in a book, you three are always being kind to me." He tried to pull off his most convincing smile, which unfortunately made him look more stupid than nice. He'd have to work on that. He couldn't grab their attention by just fixing all of their belongings with alchemy like he did in Amestris, as they could obviously do that on their own. Although he was hell-bent on his journey home, Ed couldn't help but think about how friends might be actually be nice to have around, not just for info. The only people his age that he talked were his brother and Winry, and they were both pretty strange cases.

Despite his awkward attempt at a smile, the trio smiled back in unison, obviously trying to keep Ed's spirits up. They were extremely worried about his mental state after the boggart incident, especially Hermione.

"We were thinking about going to see Hagrid later today, do you want to come with us?" asked Harry.

"Um… sorry for asking this but who's Hagrid again?" Ed knew the name sounded familiar but couldn't put a face to it.

"He's the really big guy that has a big beard and lots of hair. You can't miss him!" Harry laughed.

Ed instantly knew who they were talking about now. Hagrid was the one who spotted him when he appeared at Hogwarts and carried him to the hospital wing. He had spotted him at the staff table a few times, but had never actually talked to him. Ed supposed he should be thankful to the man for finding him when he did, but he also didn't want him blabbing about what happened.

"Yeah, sure." Ed agreed hesitantly.

They made their way out of the castle down the grounds, and Ed realized why Hagrid had spotted him so quickly. There was a hut a few feet down from where he appeared, so he could have been seen through the window. He did want to ask the man a few questions about what he saw, so Ed would have a better idea of what actually happened, since he was only semiconscious. He couldn't ask around the trio though, so he'd have to make up an excuse to stay a little later.

Ron knocked on the door, and they could all hear a slight grunt come from inside, as well as a few crashes that sounded like pots and pans falling. Ed didn't really want to know how such a big man fit inside such a small hut comfortably, but he supposed that magic could change a lot.

As the door opened, a huge dog bounded out of it and landed right on top of Ed. It reminded him of Alexander, Nina's dog, and he got a small pang of grief.

"CAN SOMEONE GET THIS STUPID DOG OFF OF ME?!" he cried out, feeling completely crushed by the huge animal.

"C'mon Fang, don't hurt our new guest!" Hagrid grunted as he lifted the black dog off of Edward. He was instantly reminded of the state the small boy was in when he helped him, and couldn't help but to sigh. It was a strange occurrence after all, and it isn't everyday that you see a strange bleeding boy appear out of thin air and try to start crawling through the grass.

"Crazy animals… always think I'm a chew toy or something…" Ed muttered to himself while rubbing his neck and walking into the hut. It was small for sure, but looked more spacious on the inside than it did on the outside.

"So what brings all of you here? I havn' seen ya since school started!" Hagrid said as he tried to make room for his three guests.

"We all just wanted to say hello, for exactly that reason. We also wanted to introduce you to our new friend, Edward Elric!" said a proud Hermione.

"Oh, I know Ed from the beginnin' of the year, when…" Hagrid stopped abruptly when he saw Ed shaking his head and motioning for him to be quiet. "I know him from when Dumbledore introduced us, that's all." he softly finished. Hagrid had a knack for always saying too much at the wrong time, so he wasn't surprised when Ed told him to stop.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all shot each other puzzled looks, but decided to stay silent for the moment. After a long chat with Hagrid about the various happenings at the school and a few mentions of some dude named "Voldemort," it started to get dark outside, so they all agreed to go back to the castle. Hagrid gave them all very inedible looking rock cakes, and shoed them outside so they didn't get in trouble for being out after dark.

"You guys go on, I have a few things I need to ask Hagrid about my term here." Ed told them.

"Okay Ed, just hurry back soon so you don't get in trouble." a worried Hermione replied.

Once they left, Ed sat back down, and eyed the giant up and down. He was roughly near the size of Al's armor, which was saying something.

"Yeh wanna talk about the day I found you, don't ya?" Hagrid sighed as Ed nodded.

"What exactly happened? Can you tell me what you saw, since I wasn't exactly aware of what was going on?"

"It suddenly became very windy outside," Hagrid stated, "and a huge black swirl appeared right above the ground. With everything I've seen, I can't say I've ever seen somethin' that spooky. You just fell from the hole, and I could've sworn I saw a buncha little black hands drop you there. Then, as you know, I saw you tryin' to gettup, so I dashed outside to help ya."

 _'_ _So I was definitely intentionally dropped from the portal… there must be some reasoning behind it. Maybe Ling and Envy ended up in the same place as me… or they just made it back safely. I'm sure there would be news spread if that giant green monster appeared out of nowhere.'_

"Now that you've heard what I saw, how'd that happen to ya anyways? It didn' look like any apparition or portkey." Hagrid questioned.

Ed supposed the man had a right to know what happened, since he witnessed it after all.

"I was taken through a portal from another world I guess you could say," Ed said fairly casually as Hagrid gasped in shock. "It's a long story, but I got myself in a situation where I was trapped somewhere, and I tried to use the Gate of Truth to get me back. Unfortunately as you saw, it backfired, and I ended up here." he finished.

"Blimey, a portal? I've never heard of anythin' like it in the wizarding world. I hope you find your way back home Edward, that seems like a situation I wouldn't put even my worst enemies in."

* * *

Since that encounter with Hagrid, Ed still knew next to nothing about what to do, but he strangely had more hope. He believed that as terrible as Envy was, he might be his only chance to a way back to Amestris. If Ed could use the souls of Xerxes as payment again, he would have another chance at going through the portal, plus he would rid the wizarding world of a homunculus they knew nothing about how to defeat.

While sitting in his boring History of Magic lesson, Ed also began to think about the man that Harry was talking about to Hagrid. As he remembered correctly, his name was "Voldemort," and he was on the large to take over the world or something. He didn't sound like anyone that Ed hasn't defeated before, so he wondered why everyone was making such a big deal out of it. He decided that he should ask about him.

Later that night, Ed and the others were in the squishy armchairs by the common room fireplace, and were just finishing up their homework.

"Who's Voldemort?" Ed abruptly stated, breaking the silence. Ron seemed to flinch at the name, and Harry and Hermione looked completely shocked that someone didn't know about the evil wizard.

"Voldemort is the worst wizard you could ever imagine," Harry replied after a small silence. "16 years ago, he was at large and caused a huge war to happen between his group, the Death Eaters, and the other wizards. He killed my parents, and tried to kill me too, but the curse backfired, that's why I have this scar on my forehead. It hit him instead, and he disappeared until just two years ago, presumably dead. He managed to come back, and tried to attack me again. His goal was and still is to exterminate anyone that isn't purely magic by blood." Harry finished acting like this was the millionth time he'd told that story.

"Oh… I'm sorry for your loss. Thanks for telling me." Ed solemnly stated. It seemed like he had more in common with this boy than he thought.

* * *

A/N: Once again, thank you for all the positive reviews and all the follows/favorites! Sorry about the kinda boring filler chapter, but a lot of info needed to be discussed. The speed will pick up again from here, and i'll try to post longer chapters. There should be a couple more coming this weekend! ;)


	8. Quidditch

**Quidditch**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

Over the next few days, Ed's primary goal was to avoid Dumbledore. Anytime he saw the man around the castle, he immediately went the opposite direction. He wasn't even close to forgiving Dumbledore, and probably never would. It infuriated Edward that wizards had the power to invade someone's mind and personal privacy. He hoped that he would keep his word not to tell what he saw, but how was Ed supposed to trust him? If word got out that he preformed a human transmutation, he'd be jailed up or worse, and his brother would probably be made into a test subject. His entire future rested upon Dumbledore's secret keeping ability, which was nerve wracking to no end.

* * *

"Hey Ed, how'd you like to watch Quidditch try outs with me?" Hermione asked. Ed still had absolutely no clue what Quidditch was, but he inferred that it was some sort of sport.

"Yeah, except you'll probably have to explain what it is on the way there," he chuckled.

"WHAT?! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT QUIDDITCH IS?" Harry and Ron both gasped in shock as Hermione sighed.

"He's not from around here, and he's not even a wizard!" Hermione snapped at them. "How would he know what Quidditch is?" They both seemed to just remember this fact, and uncomfortably shifted around. They then proceeded to tell Ed everything they knew about Quidditch as they walked to the pitch. It was a lot to take in for sure, and he still didn't even understand how they were supposed to fly on broomsticks.

Ed's confusion about Quidditch was soon erased as he watched dozens of students in different Gryffindor robes zoom around in the air. There was no way that he would ever do that, not in a million years.

"Hey Ed!" Ron called from in the air. "You should totally try out for the team! With this lot, I wouldn't be surprised if you got in, and Harry's the captain!" Ed laughed at how ridiculous that offer was, like he would ever get on a broom. As he was laughing, however, Harry grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the pile of brooms sitting on the floor.

"Get on and try!" Harry said as he pushed him onto the broom. He mounted his own broom and followed Ed up into the air, to make sure that he didn't fall. Ed, struggling with all his might, began to levitate into the air, and in no time his feet left the ground.

"Get me off of this thing!" Ed stammered as he raised higher and higher. He began to panic at this point, which was probably a bad idea. The broom zoomed forward and back, and jerked in all directions. His automail weight was probably throwing it off balance, causing it to jerk all over the place. After a bit longer, however, the broom seemed to get used to him, and he got steadier in the air. He gained control, and flew around the pitch at top speed. He felt the wind blow on his face and grinned. This was the happiest he had been in a long time, and the rush of flying made him forget about all of his problems.

"Wow Ed, you're a natural!" Harry smiled from his broom. He tossed him a ball, and Ed caught it as he was flying. "Now try to throw it in the hoop!" Harry called. Ed did as he said and it went right through as a perfect shot. "Amazing! You'd be a fantastic chaser along with Ginny Weasley and Katie Bell! Now try to dodge these!"

Two high speed black balls zoomed straight towards Ed, and luckily he had great reflexes from his training with Izumi. He went to the right of the first one, and above the second, adding in a flip for good measure. Everyone cheered for him, and Hermione screamed his name from the stands. Attention that was purely from cheer was new to Ed, as he was used to people paying attention to him for fighting or having a short temper. He took it all in as he descended back to the ground.

* * *

Ron managed to get the role of keeper, after a very tense battle against Cormac McLaggen. The new Gryffindor Quidditch team celebrated in the common room, and Ron and Ed especially got loads of applause.

"You're going to love being a chaser Ed! I'm Ginny Weasley, I'll teach you everything you need to know about Quidditch, it's quite easy once you get the hang of it."

Ed smiled and nodded, making sure to remember all of the friendly encounters like this one that he made. Ron also seemed to be taking in all the attention, and was very relieved to have beat McLaggen. It was strange how Cormac almost seemed to move away from the Quidditch hoops though, and many of them suspected that Hermione was behind it. They all shrugged it off though, this was their night to celebrate.

* * *

Winter was approaching faster by the day, which meant much colder weather. Ed's ports were aching worse and worse, and he couldn't do anything about it. He spent most of his days by the fireplace, and massaging his shoulder and knee. He wasn't used to cold weather at all, and apparently his automail wasn't either. It occasionally got stuck a few times and he had to bang on it to move again, which was a pain when there were people around.

"Are you alright Edward? You don't seem to be taking to the cold very well," a concerned Harry asked.

"I'm fine, it's just not cold where I'm from," Ed answered grumpily. They were walking to their first winter Quidditch practice, and he wasn't excited for it at all. It surprisingly went well, but Ed had to take a few breaks to heat himself up with alchemy. Apparently the methods that Mustang used to heat the air molecules worked fantastic for short heat wind bursts. The team all looked at him puzzled, but he didn't care. It was better to be a weirdo and warm than for him to fall off his broom.

After the practice, he heard a lot of the students talking about a trip to a place called "Hogsmeade." As usual, Ed didn't know what that was, but was excited to check it out.

"You do know that you need a permission slip to go, right Ed?" Ron asked as he saw Ed listening in to the conversations.

"No, I didn't know that," Ed answered a little disappointed. "I have nobody to sign one either for me, so I guess I can't go."

"There might be a way around that," smirked Harry as he joined in on the conversation. "When I couldn't get my permission form signed, I used all of the secret passageways in the school to get there, and it worked like a charm." Ed grinned mischievously, as stealth was his specialty.

* * *

After another late night of studying, Edward decided to write another letter before he went to bed.

 _Alphonse,_

 _I'm gradually getting more comfortable here, which is a relief. It makes it a lot easier to focus on studying when you're not stressed out of your mind. Getting home is still obviously my top priority, but it's nice to have some things to take my mind off of everything. I've actually started playing a sport called Quidditch, where you fly on broomsticks. It's completely crazy, and I still don't understand how it works, but at least it's fun. Maybe we can find a way to play it in Amestris when you get your body back!_

 _Keep fighting,_

 _Edward_

He smiled to himself as he put the letter in his truck with the rest of his things. He also decided to transmute some fur on the back of his coat for his trip to Hogsmeade. Ed hoped that he could find some bookstores there, so he could try to find out any more info on the Gate of Truth. His mood was actually lifting at Hogwarts, and for the circumstances he was in, being happy was rare.

* * *

A/N: I've been really busy with school and work lately, but I figured that writing short chapters and updating more frequently was better than writing really long chapters that were barely updated. This story is going to have a lot of them, and I wanted to stretch it out too. It's hard to write chapters that are leading up to all the big events I have planned, but I guess that's how it works. I'll try to make them less rushed, and please leave feedback on what you think! Thanks ;)


	9. Silver and Gold

**Silver and Gold**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP, and a few lines from the book were put in here, but nothing too large.

Edward woke with a start as he heard a loud yell ring out through the common room. All the other students woke up too, as there were muttered voices in the room. He looked over and saw Ron hanging from his ankle as if an invisible hook was attached to his ankle.

"Sorry!" yelled Harry as he let Ron down. Everyone was roaring with laughter, and Ron sat on the floor rubbing his head. Ed thought it was some sort of attack at first, but then laughed it off as he found out that it was only Harry. Still, he thought that it was unhealthy that Harry was always sitting around reading his potions textbook. There could be something dangerous in there, and Ed thought that messing around with unknown spells was far from smart. He shrugged it off and fell asleep again as the laughter died down to a quiet whisper.

Apparently Ed wasn't the only one that was concerned about Harry, and Hermione had the same idea. After a long scolding, Harry got a letter for Ginny about his next "lesson." This was the first time that Ed had actually heard about these, but he guessed that whatever he saw Dumbledore and Harry doing was one of their so called lessons. There was a lot going on around Hogwarts, and the trio were being as open with Ed as he was being to them. He hated feeling useless with a situation, but he figured they could handle whatever they were doing by themselves.

"Harry, m'boy!" Slughorn called as he made his way over to the table. He was talking to Harry and Hermione about missing his "dinners," and Ed didn't even want to know about what that was about.

"Edward! Why don't you join us at our next dinner? You're one of the best potions students I've seen in a long time, and I'd love to hear about where you come from and your heritage!" Slughorn cheerfully said.

"Um I'd love to, but I have a lot of Quidditch practice and schoolwork to catch up on," Ed nervously replied. The last thing he wanted to do was have dinner with his crazy biased professor.

"Your luck is just as bad as Harry's! Well, I do hope to see both of you when you aren't so busy," he said dramatically while turning around to leave.

Ed sighed with relief, and Harry did as well.

"Okay Ed, we better get going if we want to get to Hogsmeade at the same time as everyone else," Harry told Edward as he pulled him up from the table. "We'll see you there!" He said to Hermione and Ron as they left the great hall.

"Where are we going?" Edward asked. He had no clue where he was being pulled, but just then they stopped at the Gryffindor common room.

"I have to get something really quick, wait here," Harry told Ed. He did as he said, and soon enough Harry came out holding a transparent looking cloak.

"What the hell is that?" Ed asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"It's an invisibility cloak! It's how I got into Hogsmeade unnoticed for the time I didn't have my permission form signed. I don't really need to use it now, but I don't want to lose you," Harry replied. "You're lucky you're short, or we might not have been able to both fit under it."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE'S INVISIBLE WITHOUT THE CLOAK?!" Ed roared in fury back to Harry.

"Haha sorry, but it's true," Harry laughed as Edward scowled at him. He began pulling Ed again, and soon enough they stopped in front of a statue of a witch with one eye. It was really creepy, and it looked like it was following Ed's every move. Harry said a word that Ed didn't understand, and the statue eerily moved to the side.

"Well this is a new one," Ed exclaimed as they went into a dark passage. It seemed to last forever, but after about thirty minutes they reached the end.

"Make sure to keep this on, or else they'll see us," Harry said. Ed nodded, and they went up a trap door on the ceiling. They emerged into a dark cellar, and climbed up the stairs in the corner. Right as they went into the room, Edward had to hold back a gasp. They entered the biggest, most colorful candy shop he had ever seen. All types of magical candies and sweets lined the walls, and the colors were varied and bright. There was no place like it in Amestris, and Ed really wished Alphonse was here to see it. He considered buying some things, but then realized that Al wouldn't be able to eat them anyways until he got his body back.

Ed sighed and continued to follow Harry out the door, looking back at the amazing candy shop. When they left, they were on a long road lined with many shops and stores. It was the liveliest place he had been other than Rush Valley maybe, except the shops had magical supplies and gifts instead of automail. Ed shivered a bit from the cold, and Harry seemed to notice.

"Follow me, we can go get some butterbeer and meet up with Ron and Hermione," Harry noted. They went to a place called "The Three Broomsticks," and eventually found the table that their friends were sitting at. Someone caught Ed's eye though, but he figured it was nothing. ' _There's no way that guy could be him… why would he be here?'_ He sat at the table with the others, but kept glancing at a table in the far back. The guy he was looking at eating food feverishly looked and acted _exactly_ like Ling.

"Is something bothering you Ed? You haven't said anything since we got here, are you there?" Hermione asked after ordering four butterbeers. Ignoring her, Ed decided that it would drive him crazy if he didn't go and get a good look at the guy. He ripped off the invisibility cloak and stormed over to the other side of the room.

"Ling?" he asked the guy that still had his attention on his food. He looked up, and his eyes went huge.

"EDWARD? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" he yelled so that the whole restaurant could hear him. They all looked in their direction, and Ed quickly put his hand over the prince's mouth.

"Be quiet! I'm not supposed to be here!" he whispered. He grabbed Ling's shirt sleeve and pulled him into the back of a pub next door, so that nobody could hear them.

"How did you get here?! Did the portal take you here too?!" Ed exclaimed. He was as happy as he could ever be to find out that he wasn't the only one stranded in the wizarding world, and could almost jump for joy at the fact that his theories were correct.

"Woah calm down, I'm happy to see you too." Ling grinned. "Ever since I landed in this little town, I stayed at an inn, and ate all the food they had. They kicked me out, so I've just been jumping between all the different places. You wouldn't believe that they don't treat me with respect here! Every time I tell them I'm a prince of Xing, they look at me like I'm crazy! Not to mention all the really weird alchemy they use here. It doesn't look like anything I've seen, even from Amestris."

"That's because it's not alchemy," Edward said. "It's actual magic."

"You're joking!" Ling laughed. "Magic doesn't exist, even I know that!"

"It's true! This place is crazy, they don't even follow the laws of Equivalent Exchange! I've been trying to figure out a way to get us back to where we came from, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find anything other than the fact that we're trapped in a parallel world."

"Woah, that's crazy!" Ling said. "You keep doing that, and I'll stay here and enjoy myself while I'm here. You don't happen to have any money do you? They're going to arrest me sooner or later if I don't get any…"

"No! I'm not going to give you any money!" Edward growled. "While you've been living in luxury over here, I've been forced to go to 'magic school' at the place called Hogwarts not far from here. They'd probably let you stay there too, if you asked."

"There is no way I'd go to _school!_ Who do you think I am? I'm perfectly fine staying here, just keep me updated and try to smuggle me some food or money if you can. I'll look through the bookstores and ask around though to try to figure out something too, don't worry," Ling laughed.

"Fine, just don't get kicked out or anything! If we get out of here we're going together!" Ed scolded him as he walked out of the pub. The trio was probably still waiting for him at The Three Broomsticks, and he didn't want to keep them waiting. Ling waved to him as he left and continued to eat, like usual.

"Who was that?" asked Hermione as Ed came back.

"Yeah and why didn't you introduce us to him?" Ron whined.

Harry just looked a bit annoyed about something in the corner, but seemed to agree with them.

"Oh it's nothing…" Edward spluttered. "He's just someone I know from my alchemy school, no big deal."

They didn't seem very convinced with his answer, but what else was he supposed to say?

"Well you might as well not put the cloak back on Ed, since everyone's already seen you. Luckily nobody really knows who you are so it doesn't matter," said Hermione sharply. "Your butterbeer came too, you better drink it before it gets cold."

Edward looked at the foamy orange liquid sitting in front of him, and took a sip. It filled him with warmth, and immediately made his ports feel ten times better from the cold. He sighed in relief at the delicious butterscotch taste and heat, and drank it down in just a couple sips.

"It's good, isn't it?" Ron smiled.

* * *

For the rest of their time in Hogsmeade they went to a few more shops, and Ed gawked at all of them. He especially liked the joke shop, Zonko's, and mischievously grinned at a few of the pranks he found. He'd have to try some of these ideas back home on the colonel, especially the ones that included squirting water at the victim. He spotted Ling a few times running from people that he probably ate food from, and Ed couldn't help but to giggle.

Once they finally decided that the cold was getting too much for them, especially Edward, they started to make their way back to Hogwarts. He had the invisibility cloak back on, but the other three made sure that he was still with them every once in a while. After they neared the castle, they began to notice an argument between who Ed recognized as the chaser, Katie Bell, and her friend. The argument became angrier and louder as it went on, and eventually they heard an extremely loud shriek, followed by desperate screams.

They ran towards the noise, and didn't expect to see what they did. Katie bell was floating midair, and her arms were outstretched at her side. With Ed's quick reflexes, he threw off the invisibility cloak and ran out under her, catching her just in time. She was writhing and twitching in his arms, and he could barely hold her. The others came over and saw, and Hargid eventually made them move out of the way. Ed saw a necklace poking out of a package, and began to reach for it, before he was yelled at not to. Hagrid ran her back to the castle, and she was still twitching and screaming, as if in a trance.

"I've seen that necklace before, Harry said while staring at it. "It was on display in Borgin and Burkes ages ago. The label said it was cursed. Katie must have touched it."

Ed then remembered that he had seen Katie holding the package when he was talking to Ling, and she wasn't acting like herself. He made sure to tell them, and they all still stared at it completely confused. Ed used his right hand to pick it up, while the others flinched.

"Don't worry, it won't work through the gloves," Ed lied. He didn't actually know if that would work or not, but he knew it wouldn't effect his automail because it wasn't actual skin.

They followed Hagrid back to the castle, still confused about the action that just took place. _'There must be something behind this, it wan't coincidence that a girl was carrying around a cursed necklace.'_

When talking to McGonagall back at the castle, Harry tried to put the blame on Malfoy, but even Edward knew that an accusation without evidence would get him nowhere.

* * *

 _Alphonse,_

 _Events here are beginning to take an interesting turn. I met up with Ling at Hogsmeade, so at least I'm not all alone anymore. He agreed to help search for info while he stays in the village, which gives me some extra help. A student was cursed on our way back, and it was definitely not just a random occurrence. Something much larger than what I thought could be happening here. I just hope that it don't involve the dealings of what we've been going through._

 _Stay strong,_

 _Edward_

* * *

A/N: Fun Fact: I referenced the chapter title in the book to the title here, (Silver and Opals) because I thought that gold could represent Ling in a way. I'm pretty happy with how this chapter turned out (especially the short rant that I laughed pretty hard at) and I would really appreciate any form of feedback! Thanks ;)


	10. Problems

**Problems**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

Ever since his eventful trip to Hogsmeade, Edward refused to even go outside. The wind was so bad that he would either blow away or his automail would completely freeze up. He really wished that he ended up somewhere warmer. A big Quidditch game was coming up against Slytherin though, so he made sure to keep up all of his strength by exercising around the castle. He got a lot of weird looks as he ran through the multiple hallways and stretched on the stairs, but that didn't bother him at all. Even though he had already been at the school for two months, none of the students really knew who he was at all. Ed didn't mind not having many friends though, it helped him keep up his priorities and not get distracted.

"Are you ready for the big game Edward?" Hagrid happily said to Ed as he continued to do laps around the castle.

"As ready as I'll ever be I guess," Edward said between his breaths. "It'll be a challenge with the replacement chaser, but I think we'll do fine!" He smiled as he finally stopped to catch his breath.

"And how's your research going for… you know," Hagrid said in a much quieter voice.

"Not very good to be honest, but I'm sure I'll figure it out soon," Edward shrugged as he gave the man a reassuring smile. He was surprised that Hagrid had kept his word for this long, but he could tell that he was having a hard time with it. Hagrid was worried about him, and the only other people that seemed to worry about him that much were Alphonse and Winry. Ed was definitely grateful to have so many people willing to help him without a struggle, unlike a certain colonel he knew.

Hagrid frowned a bit, but waved to Edward as he left to go back to care for his creatures. "Good luck! I'll see you around, don' forget to visit!"

Quidditch practice did not go very well that evening. Ron's nerves were making him insanely uncoordinated, and he was missing almost every ball that Edward and the other chasers threw at him. Right as Ed went to throw in another quaffle, Ron managed to punch him right in the nose. Even as Ed's blood dripped down his face he barely flinched, because he was used to a lot worse. Ron feverishly apologized to him, but still got a lot of negative response from the rest of the team. Harry was able to fix his nose with a quick spell, but Ed was a lot more forgiving to Ron than the others were.

Ron's reputation with the team got even worse when he started yelling at his sister for kissing Dean Thomas right in the open.

"Harry's snogged Cho Chang, and Hermione's snogged Victor Krum! I bet even Edward has kissed someone in his life! You're the only one who acts disgusted by it Ron!" At this comment Ed's cheeks turned very red, he had never kissed a girl or let alone been alone with one other than Winry, and she didn't count, right? He did think it was a bit over the top to be all over someone in public like Ginny was though, and Harry looked especially affected by it. That boy really did a bad job at hiding his emotions.

Even Hermione had seemed out of it lately, ever since Lavender Brown had been eyeing Ron like he was candy. ' _Why am I the only one who doesn't give a crap about all of this romance stuff?'_ Ed thought as he plopped down on his bed to try to get some sleep. He spotted Harry looking distressed about something, probably Ginny. Edward was pretty good at reading emotions from body language, as he had to do it a lot with Alphonse. He figured that he could handle it himself, and closed his eyes to go to sleep.

 _Edward was leaning over a lifeless suit of armor. He was bleeding out from his leg, and sobbing over the unmoving metal. "Why didn't it work?! GIVE ME BACK MY BROTHER!" He cried staring down at the blood seal he had just drawn. Edward felt many black hands grabbing him, and he was surrounded by a white void of emptiness._

 _"_ _You could have saved me," he heard a voice say from behind him. "You could have saved me but you didn't. You aren't strong enough, not even strong enough to save your own brother. You failed at bringing mom back, and left me to be this form. How does it feel to be completely useless at everything you do?"_

 _Ed turned and saw a bony and weak body standing behind him. It was Alphonse, he could tell instantly from the voice and his complexion. He was barely able to stand, and looked like he could die at any second._

 _"_ _I'm sorry Alphonse! It's all my fault that this happened! I promise, someday soon I'm coming back for you, just you wait! Wait for me!" He cried as the black hands pulled him back through the door._

Edward shot up from his bed, drenched in sweat. His covers were wrapped around him, and he was panting like he had just ran a marathon. He sunk his head down into his knees as he tried to shake the dream from his head. It wasn't just some random nightmare, it was real.

"Edward?" he heard Harry call as he walked over. He was still shaking, but he needed to act strong in front of the others. Showing weakness was a sign of defeat for him.

"Don't worry, you don't have to talk about it. I've had my fair share of nightmares too, they stink." Harry said as he softly smiled.

Ed looked up a bit confused. Unlike his typical trait of being nosy, Harry was trying to make light conversation. Instead of being treated with pity, he was treated as an equal, something a "dog of the military" didn't get often.

"It's okay to be upset about it, bottling up emotions to seem strong doesn't help," Harry continued. He got up and left Edward alone after that, but he couldn't forget what was just told to him.

* * *

After finally going to the Great Hall for breakfast, Ed spotted Hermione looking very displeased at Harry. More drama, typical.

"Harry that's illegal! You could get into some serious trouble for doing that!" she yelled.

"I don't know what you're talking about Hermione," Harry smirked.

"Don't try to act all smooth with me! I know you put that Felix Felicis in Ron's drink so he will have good luck for the game today! That's cheating!"

"You have no proof," Harry grinned as he left the table to get dressed in his Quidditch uniform.

"Did he really put that potion in Ron's drink? He could have just faked it to mess with Ron's mind to make him think that he's lucky. Harry knows what he's doing," Ed whispered to Hermione so Ron didn't hear.

"I guess he could have done that, if he did I'd be pretty proud of him for thinking up something like that," she said.

Edward barely touched his food at breakfast, as the game was worrying him too. He didn't want to let the team down, but now that Ron thought he was under a luck potion they had a better chance at winning. He got dressed in his uniform in secrecy and grabbed the broom the school had loaned him. Ed walked out onto the Quidditch pitch with Harry and the others, and saw all of the stands packed with students. He wasn't used to the crowd, but it got his adrenaline pumping even more than before.

The whistle blew to begin and he soared through the air, grabbing a hold of the quaffle. Within the first minute Ed had already scored a goal, and the crowd went wild for him.

"Edward Elric, sixth year chaser, scores a point for the Gryffindor team! For someone who hasn't played before, he sure is talented!" the commentator announced. A few students looked confused to who he was, but nonetheless they cheered for him. The game was going very well, and Ron had blocked every shot thrown to him, apparently he really did think he was lucky. The crowd had started singing a song about him, and he looked as determined as ever. Before no time, Harry had caught the snitch, and the Gryffindor team won with a final score of 210 to 0.

The successful game's conclusion turned into a huge party thrown in the common room, with sweets and foods that Edward had never even heard of. Ron seemed to be drunk with the success of his playing, (and maybe a bit too much butterbeer) and broke into a full out passionate kiss with Lavender Brown. Edward knew too well what was going to happen next, as Hermione stormed out of the room with cheeks red from anger and envy. It was obvious that she liked Ron, but apparently the boy was too stupid to notice that.

Edward sighed as he left the room to get away from all the drama that was happening around him. This was why he didn't go to school or hang out with teenagers, all their pointless conflicts made no sense.

* * *

Ling was still sending Ed letters about how terrible the Hogsmeade food was, and how everyone was so terribly rude to him. However, none of the letters seemed to contain any type of useful information about magic or alchemy. Edward knew he was going to ask for help soon, and Harry was right. He had been bottling up his emotions and problems for too long, and there were going to be consequences because of it.

* * *

A/N: Wow I had some absolutely terrible writer's block for this chapter, sorry about that. I really don't know what to do to make this story more interesting, but I know for sure that the next chapter is one that I've been waiting forever to write. Hopefully I get some good ideas after that, so just bear with me. I'd love to hear any reviews with ideas for what I could do before I get to the climax! Thanks ;)


	11. Secrets

**Secrets**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

Snow piled over the Hogwarts grounds like a blanket. The December air was the coldest it had ever been, and another strange holiday called Christmas was approaching.

"So you've never heard of Christmas? Where could you be from that doesn't even have Christmas?" Hermione asked a bit shocked.

"Is that a bad thing? Holidays aren't really a big thing where I'm from, but I guess Winter and Summer solstices usually have some sort of celebration," Ed said. The trio still looked shocked, and explained everything about it to him. A holiday where you eat a lot of food and exchange gifts did seem like fun.

"So are you going back home during the break we have off?" Ron asked.

Ed shifted a bit in his seat, and replied "I don't exactly have anywhere to go, I'll just have to stay at the castle I guess."

"You could stay with us!" Ron grinned. "I bet my mom wouldn't mind, and Harry and Hermione will be there too!"

"Well I guess I could as long as it's fine with your family," Ed nodded. Staying with adult wizards might be a good way to get information, as they probably had a lot of experience with many different magical situations.

Just then, Hagrid walked over to the table they were eating at, with an axe in his hand and a large winter coat on. "Would any of you like to help me chop down the trees for Christmas and bring them in? I could use some extra help!"

"Sorry Hagrid, but I don't think any of us are strong enough to do that." Hermione answered as Hagrid's face fell. He began to walk away from the table looking a bit disappointed that he had to do all of his work alone.

"I can do it," Edward said with determination in his eyes. The last thing he wanted to be called was "not strong enough," and he also didn't want to let Hagrid down.

"Are you sure Ed? You're pretty small for liftin' all those giant trees," Hagrid chuckled.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT HE COULD BE USED AS AN AXE HANDLE?" Ed screamed at the top of his lungs. They should have seen that one coming.

"All right all right, jus' put on some warmer clothes and meet me outside my hut," Hagrid said.

As he got dressed in as many layers as he could, Ed started having second thoughts about what he was supposed to do. He instantly pitched in because he knew he could help, but it was really cold outside. He just hoped that he could push through it, and his thick clothes were enough to keep him warm. He marched out of the castle and walked through the strong wind to Hagrid's small hut. Steam bellowed out from the chimney as the result of a fireplace being lit, and Ed knocked on the door with his right hand so that Hagrid could hear him.

"Are yah ready to do some choppin'? Grab that axe over there and start on the big fir tree, then we can carry them into the castle so the staff can decorate them. Tell me if you can't go on any longer, and I'll get yah all warmed up."

Edward did as he said, and chopped the tree with no problem at all. His powerful blows to the trunk made huge dents, and the tree went tumbling down in no time. He began to notice a small burning sensation in his arm and leg though, but he ignored it as he dragged the tree into the castle and began starting on the other one. This went on for about an hour, and the small burning sensation turned into fire. He didn't stop though, because he didn't want to seem like he couldn't do something as simple as chop trees. Soon Harry, Ron, and Hermione came out to watch them, with amazement in their eyes.

"Wow, he really is strong isn't he! I never would have guessed," Ron said to the crew.

The burning got even worse from Ed's ports, and his automail began to stiffen up. He gritted his teeth together as he pulled the last tree up the slope to the castle, and it started to slip out of his hands. With one final tug, the fire feeling felt like he was being burned alive, and his stomach gave a large tug. His arm and leg gave out on him, and he fell to the ground, unable to move.

"ED!" Harry yelled as they all ran over to him. He was shivering on the ground, and was unable to move. He vomited into the snow, and he couldn't even feel his limbs anymore.

"Don't just stand there," he gasped. The trio snapped back into reality, and Hagrid ran over and picked him up. They ran him all the way through the castle up to the hospital wing, and Ed's limp shivering form was draped in Hagrid's arms.

"What happened?!" Madam Pomfrey gasped at the sight of Edward. They set him down on the bed and she began to pull of his jacket and pants, with the trio still standing there watching. They caught a glimpse of metal, and soon his automail arm and leg were in plain sight for them to see. They all gasped, as that was the last thing they expected to see. The section of his skin that connected to the metal was bright red and inflamed, and was still shivering.

"He has frostbite where the skin connects to the metal!" The nurse gasped as she tried to warm it up.

"Take them off," Ed groaned between his breaths. "Pull the lever and take them off, they'll just strain it even more."

The nurse did as he said, and removed the artificial limbs. Ed clenched his teeth even tighter and he felt the nerves disconnect, but sighed in relief as there was less strain put on his frostbite.

Harry finally decided to speak up after the shock of seeing him with no arm and leg, but he didn't know what to say. "What exactly are those?" was the first thing that came to mind.

"They're artificial limbs called automail," the nurse said as Ed was still calming down from the frostbite. "I don't exactly know how they work either, I've never seen anything as advanced as these in my life."

They decided not to ask any more questions as Edward still recovered from his frostbite, and the nurse made them leave so she could tend to him.

"It's my fault this happened!" Hagrid choked out. "I pushed 'im too hard, I shouldn' have let a student help with work that difficult!"

"None of this is your fault Hagrid," Hermione reassured him. "He just didn't stop when he should have, he pushed himself too hard."

They all walked back to the common room, leaving Edward in the hospital wing, and still trying to get over the initial shock of his condition.

"Well that changes things," Harry finally said as they sat in their squishy armchairs by the fire.

"How do you think he got them?" Ron asked. "It isn't every day someone loses two of their limbs, let alone have some really futuristic looking prosthetics."

"This just keeps getting stranger and stranger," Hermione said. "Do you think it has any connection to that freaky boggart he saw?"

"I don't know," answered Harry. "Something bigger is going on here, and this guy sure seems to have had a traumatic life. He still hasn't told us anything about him, don't you think that's strange? Maybe now he'll be willing to tell us more."

* * *

Edward opened his eyes to see all white, almost like the Gate of Truth. He really hated being stuck in hospitals, and he groaned as he tried to sit up. He looked over to his right side and almost forgot that he told the nurse to take off his automail. With the way those things froze up, he wouldn't be able to wear them for a long time. He sighed as he plopped back down onto his pillow. ' _Too bad Winry isn't here… I bet she would be able to make some that fits winter conditions or something. On second thought, she'd probably just throw a wrench at my head for making it freeze up like that and for not tending to it.'_ He shivered at the thought of how much she would yell at him and how many wrenches would be chucked at him.

Luckily, winter break was coming up, so there wasn't much time left of school, and he would be able to go visit the Weasley's house. Until then, he would either have to stay in the hospital wing, or go around with crutches or a wheelchair or something. Both of those options were terrible, and he always got fidgety sitting in one place for too long. Ed realized that the trio had seen him, and they were probably expecting an explanation from him of some sort.

The next day, the trio decided to visit the hospital wing again to check on Edward and try to figure things out. The hospital wing was empty, and even Madam Pomfrey was busy in her office sorting out her medical supplies.

"Hey Ed, how are you doing," Hermione lightly said. He looked up from where he was sitting to see them all standing there a bit uncomfortable.

"You probably want an explanation, don't you?" Edward sighed. They all nodded, still keeping their distance from him a bit. "Well don't act like I'm some animal in a zoo! Get over here and I'll tell you!" They all shuffled to where he was, not wanting to set him off.

"When I was younger, 11 to be exact, I did something stupid. I made a terrible mistake, and I pushed my brother into it too. Because of that mistake, we both had to pay the price, him more than me. I got out with no arm and leg, but that's generous compared to what he went through. He isn't dead, but ever since then it has been my goal to get things back to normal, or at least as normal as we were before." Ed finished.

"And what exactly was that mistake?" Harry hesitantly said.

Edward looked around the hospital to make sure that nobody was there, and sighed at the extreme curiosity that the group always had. They would never let this go if the didn't tell them.

"I committed the greatest taboo in alchemy," he finally said. "I tried to bring my mother back from the dead." They all looked at him in a mixture of shock and pity as he continued. "It was all my fault," he looked away from them at the ceiling as the memories came back to him. "There is no price that equals that of a human soul, and being as dumb as I was, I ignored that. They took my brother's entire body, so I bound his soul to an empty suit of armor using my arm as the price. Now he's stuck that way, and we didn't even succeed in bringing our mom back either. That's what that boggart you saw was."

Not wanting to bring back any more bad memories, they just nodded and left, leaving Ed to think over everything. A lot made more sense now, and Hermione thought back to the letter she saw. Alphonse must have been his brother, the one he kept writing to. She was now determined to help him in any way that she could, and they all swore to keep his story a secret that only they knew. They were grateful to how open he was with them, and they didn't want to ruin that.

* * *

While Edward was still in the hospital, the trio visited him a lot, telling him all about the things that were going on. There was still obvious tension between them all, Ed could tell. Ron and Hermione didn't even seem to talk to each other, let alone glance in their direction. They told him all about the "Slug Club" party, and he was pretty glad that he wasn't forced into that. His frostbite was finally gone, which meant that he could put back on his automail. Ed still wasn't allowed to go outside though so the same thing wouldn't happen.

Ron's parents said that it was okay to stay with them for the Christmas break, so Ed needed to pack. He was happy to be up and around, and strolled back to the Gryffindor common room.

"Where were you all this time Ed?" Dean Thomas asked.

"I was in the hospital because I got really sick from the cold weather apparently. I'm not used to the cold, so my immune system didn't really work very well," he lied. He left him and the others looking unconvinced, and went up to his dormitory to pack. He really didn't want to deal with more nosy kids, and now that Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew his story they were acting a bit weird around him as well.

After packing up all of his clothes and belongings, Ed decided to send a letter to Ling to let him know that he was going to be gone over the break. He plopped down on his bed, ready to take on anything that might come his way at his upcoming trip to the Weasley's house.

* * *

A/N: What do you think about the trio knowing Ed's backstory now? The story wouldn't have gone anywhere if they were all just keeping secrets the whole time, so I had to take some action. Thanks for reading, and make sure to leave any reviews about what you think! ;)


	12. Home

**Home**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

Alphonse sat by the river, staring at the shimmering flowing water. He had been sitting by rivers more and more lately, as it reminded him of his childhood in Resembool. The bright blues and the calming noise the river made as it flowed made him feel at peace, despite all the pain he had been through. It had been almost four months since he last saw his brother, and he was starting to lose hope. Of course he would never give up, he agreed on that the day the brothers decided to burn their house and move forward. However, without the constant reminder that everything was going to be okay, he had more trouble believing it. He had nowhere to go and nothing to do without Edward, and he had no clue how to continue the journey to try to get his body back. He felt helpless, and although he had Winry to talk to, it wasn't the same. He stared off into the distance, wondering if anything was even worth it anymore, when he was reminded of a memory.

 _"_ _Stand up and walk, keep moving forward. You have two good legs, so use them. You're strong enough to make your own path."_

* * *

Edward sat slumped in his seat on the Hogwarts express, staring out the window at the plains that passed by. Even though they were extremely uncomfortable, trains reminded him of all the places he went with his brother. The rural landscape passing through the window reminded him of his hometown, and he couldn't help but feel solemn about it. He couldn't even imagine what Al was feeling right now, his position was much worse than Ed's. The fire in Ed's eyes and the determination burning within him would not sizzle out until their goals had been accomplished and everything was okay again.

"Are you feeling okay Ed? You haven't said a word since we got on the train! Start getting excited, my family can't wait to meet you!" Ron cheerfully said with a mouth full of sweets.

Ed just nodded, still staring out the window. He still felt strange about having told them as much as he did, even though he usually had to tell the story all the time to people they had missions with. He could easily rip off his coat and kick Al's head off with no problem in Amestris, but things were different at Hogwarts. Alchemy was practically a dead practice, and automail didn't even exist. It was a good thing that the trio wasn't educated enough in engineering to understand that. He was just tired of feeling shut out from the world all the time, and he trusted the trio enough to know that they wouldn't go telling anyone anything. They probably wouldn't even know how to say it if they tried.

The train ride lasted until it was dark outside, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione continued to chat quietly and eat sweets until they reached King's Cross Station. Ed had never been anywhere in this world other than Hogwarts, so he was excited to see what the rest of it looked like and how different it was. After getting off the train, a huge train station came into view. It was the biggest station Ed had ever seen, even bigger than the one in Central. His mouth opened in awe as he followed the others off of the train, and they walked until stopping in front of a wall.

"Why did we stop here?" Ed asked, confused.

"This is how we get to the rest of the station," Ginny laughed. "Our train platform is hidden from view, so we have to walk through it to get in and out."

This was for sure one of the craziest things that Ed had ever heard, but with all of the crazy illogical magic he was exposed to, it wasn't much of a surprise. He watched as the others walked straight through the platform, and finally got brave enough to try himself. He shut his eyes and ran straight towards the wall, expecting to hit a wall or feel something, but when he opened his eyes he was on the other side and the entire rest of the station was visible. He shook his head from how unbelievable it was that wizards completely ignored physics, and the others all looked very amused at him.

Edward spotted a redheaded family ahead, who were obviously Ron's parents and brothers. There was a kind looking mother and father, and two twins with mischievous looks on their faces. He also saw a man with many scars on his face and graying hair, who didn't look very healthy.

The mother hugged her children, along with Harry and Hermione, before spotting Ed.

"So you must be the Edward I've heard all about! It's nice to meet you, I hope you feel welcome at our home!" she smiled as she reached over to hug him. He wasn't expecting that at all, and awkwardly hugged her back after a few seconds. Nobody ever really hugged him, especially people that he just met.

The group took one of the ministry cars to get back home, and in no time a strange building was in view. It looked like a small house, with many layers stacked on top of it. It barely looked strong enough to stand, but Ed shrugged it off with all the other strange magic things he had seen.

The interior of the house was cluttered, but homey. Unlike the towering buildings of Hogwarts, the Weasley's house made Ed feel less isolated and more comfortable. However, many things around were controlled by magic, such as dishes washing themselves and clothes being stitched up.

"You can stay with Harry and Ron, it'll be cramped but it's the only space we have left," Mrs. Weasley noted. Ed followed them up the many flights of stairs until they finally entered a very small, bright orange room. The color made Ed want to gag, it was completely uncomplimentary to his sense of style, and clashed horribly with Ron's hair.

"It's not much, but it's home," Ron smiled as he plopped down on his bed. There were two small cots squeezed against the wall, and hardly any room to even walk. Ed sat down on one of the cots and stretched out, taking in all the surroundings in the room. Many of the posters lining the walls were moving, and they all seemed to be of the same Quidditch team.

"So what do you guys do here during Christmas time?" Ed asked, still unsure of what wizards did during the holiday.

"We usually just hang out, but we like to play Quidditch sometimes, and we're usually forced to help out with chores around the house," Ron groaned.

"Sounds like fun!" Ed said as he started unpacking his very small bag. Like usual, Ron and Harry gave him looks of confusion for thinking chores were fun.

"Let's go downstairs so we can introduce you to everyone. You still haven't met all my brothers and Lupin," Ron added.

Most of the family seemed awkward around Ed, mainly because they weren't used to seeing him around. Lupin seemed very concerned about him, and seemed to look at his eyes a lot. Ed didn't know what that was about, but he couldn't help to notice that occasionally the man's eyes were the same color as his, golden.

"Hi Edward! My name is Remus Lupin, I'm a family friend of Harry and the Weasleys," he smiled as he reached out to shake Ed's hand. Ed, however, held out his left hand, and Lupin hastily changed it, wondering why he didn't use his right. He gave a small smile and Ed continued to explore the house and it's contents, studying everything he could.

"Hey! You aren't just going to walk around without meeting us are you?" he heard a voice say. Ed turned around and the twins were there, smiling and blocking his path. "I'm Gred and he's Forge!"

"I thought I was Gred!" the other twin said as they mocked fighting. Ed looked extremely confused, and the twins seemed kind of disappointed that he didn't laugh.

"Lighten up a bit! I'm actually Fred and this is George, stop by our room if you want to see what we've been working on, by what we've heard we think you'd enjoy our sense of humor." Fred said as they left to go back to their room. He was always up for a good prank, especially if Mustang was the victim, so he made a mental note to go see what they were up to later.

For the remainder of the day, Ed got accustomed to the house and the people in it. He discovered that Arthur Weasley was amazed by muggles and their technology, and was almost tempted to let him see his automail, as it would complete his entire year just to get a glimpse. He didn't though, because it was much too risky, especially since the man worked at the ministry. Edward discovered that the Ministry of Magic was a lot like the military system in Amestris, just without all the constant fighting.

* * *

Edward sat in one of the chairs by the fireplace, trying to keep warm because of what happened the last time he got too cold. Luckily, nobody made him go outside to do any chores. It was late at night, and everyone had gone to bed except some of the adults. Lupin approached the fireplace that Ed was sitting at, and sat down in the squishy chair next to him.

"Sorry for bothering you Edward, but could we have a word?" Lupin asked as he lounged back in the chair.

"We might as well, you're here anyways." Ed said, turning to look him in the eyes.

"For the best interest and safety of the people in this house, and many more, I think that it would be best if we knew some more about you," said Lupin. "You just happened to appear out of nowhere, befriend Harry and the others, and are now staying with us. This probably makes you uncomfortable, but all of us, me specifically, just want to know if there is anything we can do to help you in any way."

Ed scoffed, and shook his head a bit. There's no way he'd just spill his life story to a guy he met a couple days ago. "I won't tell you anything if I don't want to. I barely know you, and you should trust Harry's judgement that I'm not some sort of threat."

"I understand, I'm not expecting you to tell me all about you or anything, just where you're from at least. If it makes you feel better, I'll tell you something about myself too. That should be an equal trade, right?"

Edward laughed to himself at the thought that someone was using equivalent exchange on him. That rarely happened from someone who wasn't an alchemist, and he couldn't deny that he was impressed.

"Let's just say that I don't come from anywhere close to where we are now," Ed said. "I guess you could say I'm stranded here in a way, but I've got it under control. There's no need to worry about me, it seems that there are a lot more important things to put attention to. Maybe I'll get more descriptive later once I get to know you all better and trust you, but for now that's all I can say. Luckily Ron was kind enough to invite me to stay here, and I'm grateful that everyone seems to care so much. I'm not really used to that back home, I've been forced to learn to deal with my problems alone."

"Thank you for at least telling me that much, and I hope to gain your trust in time," said Lupin. "You seem like a very mature boy for your age, why don't you just lighten up a bit and enjoy your childhood while it's still there?"

"I haven't been a child since I was twelve." Ed said, staring into the man's golden-brown eyes. With that he stood up and left to go to his room, leaving Lupin to ponder over thoughts.

Lupin now worried over Ed more than he did before, and saw a lot of himself in him. When he had to deal with the pain of being a werewolf he himself never got to experience his childhood the way he should have.

Edward decided that he wouldn't say any more until he really understood more about the others. He had mixed feelings over Lupin, but for some reason he wasn't aggravated by his questioning like he was when other people tried to get info out of him.

He quietly snuck into Ron's bedroom, trying not to wake them while carefully stepping over the cluttered items and clothes on the floor. He took off his jackets and gloves, and put on a pair of shorts to sleep in. Thankfully he could actually be comfortable sleeping now without worrying about revealing his automail. Before he used to sweat like crazy while sleeping from wearing all his clothes, but now he could actually get a good night's rest. Ed took out his braid and got into the small cot, staring up at the ceiling. He tossed and turned, still thinking over everything in his head, when he realized that he hadn't written one of his mock letters to Al in awhile. He knew it was crazy, but for some reason it always made him feel more at ease. He sat up and grabbed a spare piece of paper and pen and began to write.

 _Al,_

 _I'm finally at the Weasley's house, and it's definitely not what I expected. These people actually treat me like their own children, and it's a strange feeling. You would really like them, and they would probably enjoy your presence more than mine. There is this one guy here named Lupin, and he's pretty weird, he's been trying to get information out of me, but at the same time he seems really calm and collected. Mr. Weasley reminds me of Mr. Hughes a bit with the way he always obsesses over things, just like Hughes and his daughter. Even Hermione's insanely ugly cat reminds me of you! Not because it's ugly, don't worry, but because you would probably pet it for hours because it's so fluffy. The similarities I'm finding in everyone here is weird, I hope I'm not just going crazy. This is the first time people have actually attempted to make me feel at home, but nothing is home without you. Don't put yourself in any more danger, I just hope you're doing alright._

 _Your favorite brother,_

 _Ed_

* * *

A/N: I really like the beginning part of this chapter, where it shows the different things that remind Ed and Al of Resembool. After that I got really really stuck with writing, and I just couldn't figure out what to do. It's been really hard for me to come up with ideas lately, but the next chapter should be easier since I already know what it's going to be. I kind of like what I've been doing so far with having a theme in each chapter that relates to the dialogue and what the characters are thinking, what do you all think? Any type of idea or thought of the story would help tremendously, thanks for the help! :)


	13. Surprises

**Surprises**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

Edward woke up to an empty room. It was silent, and the covers on the beds were tangled and messy. It looked like Ron and Harry had left the room in a hurry, but Ed didn't want to be bothered with knowing why. He had been staying at the Weasley's for a few days by now, and he couldn't deny that it wasn't pleasant. He sat there alone for awhile, enjoying the snow dance throughout the sky through his view of the window. It was very peaceful, if you didn't count the bright orange room and constantly moving posters. He took his time getting dressed, and after a few more moments of peace Ed decided to go downstairs.

"Merry Christmas Ed! What took you so long? You missed out on all the presents!" Hermione said while sorting out a large pile of gifts. Everyone seemed overly joyed, and Harry was beaming at Mrs. Weasley. Ed completely forgot about Christmas, as he had been too preoccupied with other things. He walked over to the table trying to seem more cheery, when he noticed a medium sized pile of gifts that were still wrapped.

"Who's are these?" he asked while pointing at the presents.

"They're yours you idiot! But if you don't want them we'll gladly take them off your hands," George smirked.

 _'_ _They actually bothered to get me presents?'_

Ed sat down, and cautiously reached for the presents. He opened them while the others were distracted, so they weren't focused on him. He received a lot of sweets and food, something that he could never have enough of, and a lot of personal items as well. Hermione had gotten him many books about magical laws and alchemy, which he was very happy about. Harry and Ron got him some Quidditch supplies, which he supposed were helpful. There were only two presents left now, one from Mrs. Weasley and one from Hagrid.

He opened Mrs. Weasley's gift to see a heavy red sweater, that seemed to be hand knitted. It didn't have any pattern on it, but it was still very well made and it looked extremely warm. He was shocked to say the least, at the fact that this woman he had known for only a few days would go to the effort to hand knit him a piece of clothing. Ed decided that could probably transmute the Flamel symbol onto it so it looked like his red jacket he always wore back home. He smiled and she caught his attention, so he mouthed her a simple "thank you." He figured she could tell his gratitude from his eyes.

The last gift was from Hagrid, and he had been saving this one until the end for a reason. He had a very personal connection with Hagrid, because aside from Dumbledore he was the only person from this world that knew his true situation. The box was small, and wrapped in a very messy way, almost like just one piece of paper was taped around it everywhere. When he opened it, there was only a photograph inside. It was a moving picture of Hogwarts, with Harry Ron and Hermione in front of it, and Hagrid off to the side. There was writing on the back of it too.

 _I believe in you, don't give up hope. Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you, don't you forget it!_

Ed stared down at the picture and beamed. It was such a small gesture, but just the thought that someone was cheering him on gave him strength. Obviously he had Ling helping him out, but it wasn't the same as someone who barely knew him.

"What's that Ed?" asked Harry, trying to look over his shoulder. He closed the box hastily and put it away, this was something he wanted to keep to himself. Harry rolled his eyes and went back to his chatter with the others, and Ed tried to listen to the upbeat conversations they were all having.

The day went by fairly fast, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. They talked about various magical happenings that Ed knew nothing about, but he tried to act interested about it. After many rounds of eggnog, Mrs. Weasley brought out a machine with dials on it and a disk, and Ed was extremely confused. He had seen nothing like this apart from the telephone and communicating machines they had in Amestris. Mrs. Weasley pressed a button, and smooth jazz music came out of it with a woman's voice, casing Ed to jump out of his skin.

"What the hell is that thing? How does it work?" Ed gasped while studying the machine.

"Oh come on Ed, even if you grew up in a strictly magical place you should still know what a record player is!" Hermione exclaimed.

Edward shrugged and continued to look at the machine. Who knew what other types of inventions were in this world? He listened to the strange foreign music and tried to enjoy himself, as he didn't want to draw any more attention to his ignorance. Christmas was actually a very fun holiday, and

Ed made sure to remember to tell Al all about it when he saw him again.

As night approached, the festivities continued, but a concerned Lupin made his way to Ed's side. "Edward, I need to talk to you," Lupin whispered, glancing at the others. "In the other room would be best." Ed didn't know what this was about, but he hesitantly followed Lupin into the other room like he said. His eyes were looking particularly golden that night, and he was looking more sickly than usual.

"I'm sorry to interrupt such a pleasant day, but this can't wait any longer," Lupin stated. "Your eyes, I've never seen or heard of someone with them that isn't like me, which only means one thing. You may act like everything is fine, but I know your secret. You need to make sure that everything you do is concerning the safety of others, and that you don't hurt the people at Hogwarts. I had to go through the same thing, so I can help you if you'd like. Tonight is one of those nights, if you haven't noticed, so we can go through it together if it'll help," he finished.

Ed just stared ahead, not understanding a single word the man just said. "What?" he stammered. "What the hell are you talking about? I don't know what you mean about my eyes, but I inherited them from my father, my brother has them too."

Lupin looked more than shocked, and then flushed a little. Nobody had golden eyes, it wasn't a carried trait anywhere in the world that he knew of. "Well no worries then, forget what I ever said. You can go back to enjoying your Christmas with the others." he quickly said. He then proceeded to leave the room, leaving Ed wondering what he had meant in the first place.

 _'It's probably just some magic thing, or maybe some sort of sickness,'_ Ed decided. ' _Whatever he meant, it's probably not my business.'_

The joyful day concluded with Ed spending time alone in his room, finally getting tired of all the commotion. Apparently some family drama was going on that he didn't want to be a part of, so he stayed away and kept to himself. With weary eyes, he sunk into the mattress of his small bed and drifted to sleep.

 _"You're forgetting, aren't you?" a weak voice called. Alphonse's body was once again standing before Ed, surrounded by a white void of emptiness._

 _"You're actually enjoying the place you got stuck in, after all, you don't have to deal with any of your problems there. No military, no homunculi, no murderers, and no me. I wouldn't be surprised if you just stopped trying altogether and stayed there to live a long happy life. I know you like it, and I know you like not having to carry my burden everywhere you go," his expression suddenly turned violent and hurt._

 _"How could you leave me here to rot away, while you just sit around and do nothing? Do I mean anything to you, or am I just becoming a forgotten memory? It's your fault for making me like this, and it's your fault for not fixing it! You made all the mistakes! Why am I the one being punished for them!" Alphonse cried. He fell to the ground, his weak legs no longer being able to hold him up, and got pulled away by tiny black hands. The last trace of him was gone, and the blackness overcame Ed as well._

Edward darted out of bed for what seemed like the millionth time, for he was still being haunted by the same nightmares. He did what he always had, and focused on his breathing. The full moon shone brightly in the sky, filling the room with an eerie yet calming glow. Ed tried to go back to sleep, but the broken body and face of Al kept him from doing so. After tossing and turning in bed for what felt like forever, he decided to give up sleep altogether. He got out of bed and pulled on his pants and coat, heading down the stairs.

Ed could never take walks at Hogwarts because of curfew, but at the Weasley house there was a whole landscape available. The best way that Ed knew he could clear his mind was from the calming nature of the rural plains, strikingly similar to Resembool. He snuck out through the back door and walked around the house, soaking in the setting and peaceful moonlight.

After walking around the entire perimeter of the house, he settled himself into the grass and stared up at the sky. It was supposed to be the same everywhere, right? Maybe this was the same sky he had looked at his entire life. The connection was small, but powerful.

Breaking the silence, Ed heard a faint rustling noise, followed by a sharp growling. It could have just been his imagination, but years of alchemy training told him otherwise. He stood up and made sure to keep quiet, so whatever was out there wouldn't notice him. He crept over to the source of the noise, his curiosity taking the best of him. He reached out his right hand to move a branch from a bush away, which is where the sound was coming from.

Suddenly, a large animal darted out of the bush and collided with Ed, pushing him to the floor. He let out a small yelp of surprise, and hastily scrambled to his feet. It was like nothing he had ever seen, and looked strikingly like a chimera. It had wolf like features, but also had a humanoid flare to it. Ed sprinted away from it, but the animal was faster. It opened its mouth and grasped onto his left leg, luckily, and got stuck trying to bite through the solid metal. Ed swiftly kicked it away, as the fabric of his pant leg ripped away. He clapped his hands and touched his arm, transmuting it into its traditional blade.

"Stay back! Don't make me use it!" he shouted at the animal. He knew that getting into the house was top priority, but he didn't want this creature being in any close proximity to the others. It leaped at him again and Ed blocked the attack with the flat edge of the blade, pushing the creature to the ground. The strength of the attack slowed it down, but it started running again for another attack. Its claws raked against Ed's arm, ripping the coat sleeve and making loud screeching noises against the automail, sparks flying in every direction. He pushed it back one last time, and the edge of the blade grazed its leg. A small amount of blood coated the fur, and it finally seemed to have enough. The wolf-like animal backed off back into the shadows, leaving Ed panting in the grass. It had left him a small gash on his cheek, resembling three claw marks, and the blood began to drip down his face.

The sun peaked on the horizon, and he staggered back to the burrow, hoping nobody was awake. On his way he transmuted his arm back to normal, but he couldn't do anything about the completely ripped off fabric. Still breathing heavily, Ed opened the door, faced with a sight he was hoping he wouldn't. Apparently the animal and him had made a lot of loud noise, and everyone in the house was easily awakened. All of them except Lupin were standing in the entryway, looking like they were about to march outside to see what had happened. With shocked glances, they stared at Ed's disheveled appearance as he stood in the doorway, automail completely exposed.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't look as startled and awestruck as the others, but they still looked confused and worried. After a moment of stares, Mrs. Weasley finally approached Ed, letting her motherly instincts kick in.

"Let's get you fixed up before you say anything," she stammered as she reached for the cut on Ed's face. She was clearly very pale, but her top priority was making sure he was safe. She led him over to one of the kitchen tables and wiped away the blood, while the rest of the house members still stood watching.

Ed could tell nobody knew quite what to say, so he started on his own. "I just went out for a walk to clear my mind, when some crazy animal thing attacked me. I fought it off, and it finally left back into the woods. It wasn't badly injured or anything, but I'd really like to know why you have such dangerous animals lurking around your house." He caught the others giving each other glances, and by their expressions Ed knew that they knew what had happened.

"Bloody hell Ed, I don't wanna know how you managed to fight him off, we could barely get close when we had to face him." Ron stammered.

"Edward, what you saw out there wasn't just some ordinary animal," Mr. Weasley interrupted. "We should have told you before you got into danger. That was Lupin, he's a werewolf and is effected by the full moon. He can't control his actions when he's changed, so anything that happened out there wasn't his fault."

Ed almost had to hold down a laugh. A werewolf? It wasn't far from a chimera, but it was still just a ghost story meant to scare people. It did make sense though, based off of everything that he faced in the wizarding world so far. It also explained what Lupin was going on about with his talk the previous day. _'He probably thought I was one too, because werewolves most likely all have golden eyes.'_

"Now that that's explained, would you mind telling us what the hell is up with your arm and leg?" George said.

"What does it look like? They're prosthetics." Ed shot back.

"Not like any we've ever seen. Those look like they're from some sort of sci-fi movie." Fred added.

Ed rolled his eyes and started to get out of the chair. "It shouldn't matter as long as they work."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged glances. Only they knew the real story as to why Ed was missing his limbs, but they knew that that was a promise that needed to be strictly kept between them. In fact, they discussed it often, trying to figure out how magic could possibly do such a thing. They knew he said it was from alchemy, but to their knowledge, that was just a branch of magic that they didn't quite understand.

Arthur Weasley was practically bouncing in place, itching to see how the mechanics of the automail worked. He kept in place though, knowing that this wasn't the time to let his technology obsession kick in.

Molly Weasley, on the other hand, had one of the most pained expressions on her face that a mother could. No child should have to have gone through something as painful and traumatic as that, and she tried to hide how worried and upset it made her. She knew that she would have to figure out more so she could offer all the help and support she could.

Ed could read all of these expressions, and decided that it would be best to leave before he was bombarded with any more questions. He stormed up the stairs to his room and cleaned up, changing into clothes that weren't covered in dirt and blood. He wished he wasn't so careless, after all he had just fought one of his housemates unknowingly. Now the entire household knew about his automail, and it was just a matter of time before it spread around more. What was even worse was that people that worked for the ministry knew, and if word got out he could be in some major trouble. Being a test subject was something Ed definitely didn't want, and all he could do was trust that nobody would tell.

* * *

A/N: I bet you weren't expecting that one! I really wanted to put some action into this, because it seemed to be dragging a bit in pace. Yes, I am going to stray from the normal Half-Blood Prince timeline a bit, but just so it won't get boring. If I followed the normal sequence of events you would all know everything that's going to happen, which is no fun. From here on out things should be getting pretty exciting, and I just can't wait to get to the climax. Thank you all for reading, please leave any reviews on what you think! ;)

(p.s: I just read an entire fanfiction this weekend called "Stairway to Paradise" by Rainflame, and let me just say that that was one of the most emotionally compelling stories I've read. Check it out if you have the chance, it left me feeling all the feels when I was done, and that's probably why it took me until 2am Monday morning to update this.)


	14. Questions

**Questions**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

Ed stared into the mirror on the bathroom wall. He had left the others so quickly that Mrs. Weasley didn't have time to fully clean up the wound on his face. It wasn't a deep cut, and it only covered his cheek, but it was still very swollen and prone to infection. He decided that a bandage would do just fine to cover it, that way Lupin wouldn't be able to tell the damage he did when he got back to the house. It was only a matter of time before he would return, and despite what he did, Ed felt guilty about attacking him. How was he supposed to know that there was a werewolf staying at the house? Even though he had read most of the books at Hogwarts, his mind didn't jump to magical conclusions as quickly as wizards.

The frantic whispering from downstairs could be heard through the bedroom door, and seemed to get louder and louder. The family was clearly shocked from the night's events, even the ones who knew about Ed's automail. Being stared at like a freak was one thing, but being constantly talked about like some inhuman being was even worse. At least in Amestris automail was common, and nobody blinked an eye at the result of some crazy battle. In this world, it seemed like a little scuffle was the highlight of the year, and everyone freaked out over the smallest of things.

Ed continued to sit quietly in the room, trying to drown out the noise, when suddenly he heard it all go silent. The slight shuffle of feet was all he heard, and he could only assume that Lupin returned. He tensed up, not knowing how to confront the man that he just fought outside. The footstepts grew louder and louder, and stopped when he was sure that Lupin was standing outside his door. When he entered, he looked terrible, even worse than Ed did. His clothes were all matted up and he was covered with dirt and mud, with a sickly pale face. His arm had a shallow gash in it, probably from when Ed had cut him.

There was an uncomfortable silence as the two looked at each other, unsure of how to say something. Finally, Lupin stepped closer, deciding to break the silence. "I'm so sorry Edward, I should have told you before so you didn't get into danger. You aren't hurt, are you?"

Ed shook his head and looked Lupin in the eyes. "I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have gotten so violent."

"Nonsense, you were just acting off of self defense. You have nothing to apologize for," His eyes shifted view to Ed's arm and leg, which were visible from his tank top and shorts. "I guess we both had things to hide, didn't we."

"I guess so," Ed laughed. "At least that's something we have in common, we're far from normal."

"I suppose you're right," Lupin chuckled."I don't expect you to tell me anything, but just know that I'm open if you need someone to talk to. As for myself, I'd better get cleaned up," he began walking out the door, but stopped momentarily and turned back towards Ed. "I hope you can forgive me for what happened," he said, and closed the door behind him.

* * *

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all sat huddled around the fireplace in the main room, while everyone else was asleep. The strange day had passed by with most of the household in confusion. The adults discussed what had happened the night before, and tried to figure out Ed's intentions and character. The trio had stayed silent, for obvious reasons, but they couldn't help feeling bad for the young alchemist. He had stayed alone in the room the whole day, and they didn't want to bother him.

"Do you think it's possible…" Harry spoke softly, "to bring someone back from the dead?"

"Harry… why would you be thinking about that now? With all that happened to Ed?" Hermione quietly questioned.

"What if Voldemort's return had some sort of connection to that? Whatever magic Ed did, it must have been really powerful and dark. I've never seen any spell dangerous enough to cause someone to lose two limbs, and apparently a whole human body. He must have learned the dark arts from somewhere, what if he's related to a death eater or something?"

"Harry that's enough!" Hermione scolded him. "We know Edward, he would never associate himself with the dark side! You of all people should understand how desperate he must have felt at such a loss, he even admitted that he made a dumb mistake. Even now he's still dealing with the consequences! We know nothing about his past, and I know you're still working on defeating Voldemort, but you'll get nowhere by making dumb accusations!"

"I know," responded Harry. "It's just strange that someone our age could pull off something so advanced sounding. I get it though, he must have loved his mom a lot to want her back so much, but what's dead should stay dead."

"I trust him," Ron butted in. "With all that Ed did at Hogwarts and told us, he must trust us too."

Hermione nodded, "That's true, but I'm still curious about what he did. He said he's from an alchemy school, but I've never even heard of one. The only alchemists we've heard of are Nicholas Flamel, and Dumbledore who helped him. There's hardly any alchemy books in the library, and none of them contain useful information either. We should definitely ask Ed about it when things get a bit more normal. He's always acted like he was hiding things, and we know next to nothing about him still."

Harry and Ron agreed with her, and they finally decided to head back to their rooms to get some sleep. There was only two days left at the burrow, so they needed to rest before returning to the chaotic environment of Hogwarts.

When Harry and Ron got to the room, they saw that Ed was already asleep. As they got closer, they noticed that he was shaking, with his face clenched in a pained expression. Beads of sweat lined his forehead, and he was whispering under his breath.

"No no no no no, I can't stay here… please take me back… I need to go back!"

Harry and Ron exchanged puzzled looks, and tried to shake him out of his nightmare. Harry noticed that Ed had them a lot, and he himself faced them all the time as well. He knew just how painful it could be to be stuck in your own terrifying thoughts.

Ed shot out of bed, breathing heavily, but calmed down once he saw Harry and Ron.

"I'm fine," he groaned, still half asleep, and sunk back into the bed to sleep again.

Ron shrugged as he looked at Harry, and they settled down to sleep, with nothing more that they could do.

* * *

The following day was a lot calmer, and Ed actually left his room for more than just meals. He had covered himself up to avoid the strange stares, and tried to be more social. Mrs. Weasley was still very concerned over him, but the rest of the family seemed to be over the attack by now. He even decided to check out what Fred and George had been talking about when he arrived, because he couldn't resist a good practical joke. Between short jokes and pranks, the military officers he knew always seemed to have it out for him. Now he had the chance to get them back, and he couldn't help but grin at the idea.

When Ed went inside Fred and George's room, it was not what he expected. There were boxes stacked everywhere, and papers sprawled all over the floor.

"Hey Ed! It's good to see you! Do you want to see what we've been working on?" Fred smiled.

"We've been testing these out for days, so they should be safe by now," George added. The twins pulled him into a seat and rummaged around in the boxes.

"If you didn't know by now, we run a joke shop in Diagon Alley, and it's been one of the most successful stores to date! It's one of the only ones still open, but even in dark times it can't hurt to laugh," Fred grinned.

The twins showed off all of their creations one by one, but there was one in particular that grabbed Ed's attention.

"This new product is one of our favorites," George said, holding up a small jar. "It has the power to create artificial rain anywhere at anytime! You just flip off the cap and turn the switch, and you can make rain appear out of thin air! Although you can do the same thing with a spell, this creates an element of surprise."

"The fake lighting is also a nice touch," Fred added.

Ed tried to hold back a laugh as he thought of how much he could use that on Colonel Mustang. He would hate him for it, but soaking the Flame Alchemist in water at any time was impossible to resist.

"Do you have any spares? There's someone I know that'd be driven crazy by this, and I'd like to get him back for every stunt he tried to pull on me," Ed said as an almost evil grin spread across his face.

"It's yours!" George said while tossing it to him. "Just be careful, don't go creating rainstorms in the middle of class, although that was definitely be funny."

Ed thanked the twins and let them resume their work, taking the rain prank with him. As strange as his trip to the burrow had been, he still hadn't succeeded in getting anything but a prank and and a werewolf injury. His main goal of getting information had been stalled, but with a day and a half left, Ed knew that he had to take action. He put the jar with his things in Ron's room and started to go to the main portion of the house, where Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, and Lupin were talking. He didn't know exactly how to get information out of them subtly, but surely they knew something about the Philosopher's stone, or another branch of powerful magic. On his way to the room, however, Ed was stopped in his tracks by none other than Hermione Granger.

"Ed, I've noticed that in all of your spare time here you've been reading, and if there's something that you want to know, I could always help." she said with a determined look. After thinking about what she said the previous night, she had remembered Ed's letter that she read, and what he said about the Philosopher's stone. She wanted him to feel less secluded, so helping him might have been a way to get him to open up more.

Ed paused, and wondered if Hermione knew what he was looking for. She did know a lot, and he trusted her pretty well. He was at the point where finding answers on his own wasn't an option any more, and talking to Hermione would definitely be easier than confronting the adults.

"Fine, just try to tell me everything you can." he sighed. "What do you know about the Philosopher's Stone?"

Hermione knew he was going to ask that, and she came prepared. "Based on what I've read, the Philosopher's Stone was created by Nicholas Flamel, with Dumbledore's help. In our first year at Hogwarts, the Philosopher's stone was on grounds, guarded by enchantments set by the teachers. We thought it was going to be stolen, but Harry managed to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. After that incident, it was destroyed by Dumbledore, so that nobody with the wrong intentions got a hold of it again."

"Damn it!" Ed yelled as he restrained himself from punching a wall. "So there's no other ones left? Do you know how it was made?"

"That's all I know, but Dumbledore might have more of what you need. If you're really set on finding out more, I'd ask him. Why is it so important anyways? You don't strike me as the type to seek out eternal life."

"That's not why it's important, I just need to know more for… other reasons. It has many more uses than just eternal life." Ed stated. "Thanks for the help Hermione."

 _'_ _If Dumbledore knew I needed a stone, why didn't he tell me about it? Is it because he destroyed it? What's shocking too is the fact that Nicholas Flamel is known here, wasn't he from Xerxes? Maybe there's more connections between the two worlds than I thought.'_

Ed lingered in the hall, thinking over his thoughts, when he couldn't help but overhear the conversation the adults were saying.

"Another public murder? The death eaters just keep getting worse and worse." he heard Lupin say.

"This doesn't seem to be an ordinary death eater kill though, it wasn't even of a muggle or muggle born," Mr. Weasley noted. "It also seems that this kill wasn't from magic, but one of those muggle gun machines. What's even stranger is that an eyewitness said they saw a figure completely change shape multiple times, like a metamorphmagus, but with a strange blue light."

"That certainly is strange," Mrs. Weasley said. "Crimes like these keep making me more and more nervous for the children, but Hogwarts should do a good job at keeping them safe."

Ed froze from what he just overheard. _'A gun wound, changing appearance, and blue light… it can't be… there's only one being I know that does that… If Envy is here, we're all doomed.'_

* * *

A/N: Hooray for plot twists! This chapter was definitely difficult to write, which is why this update is a bit late. All of the characters are really confused about Ed still, but by now that's common fact, so I didn't include all of the conversations that were probably said about him. As for the Nicholas Flamel story, Ed has his symbol on his coat, so it only makes sense that he somehow travelled between the two worlds in this story. I don't know how much I'll spend time on that, but it'll probably have a role later on. This section of the story is a bit hard to get through, but since the beginning I've been forming the end, which I'm really excited for. I've decided that there will probably be a sequel to this fanfic if I go through with the ending I have planned, so be prepared for that! (Although we still have a really long way to go with this story.) Feel free to leave any reviews on your thoughts on this chapter and story, and thanks for reading! :)


	15. Answers

**Answers**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

Ed's heart was racing, and his mind became clouded with panic.

 _'_ _I can't take on Envy alone! I don't have Mustang or anyone else to back me up, so how can he be stopped from killing? I'll need to warn everyone, that's a start. Maybe Dumbledore will be able to put more security on the castle. I'll need to warn Ling too, so he doesn't get caught up in it. The last time he fought Envy it didn't end well. This is bad… really bad…'_

He stepped into the room to where the adults were talking, panic still etched on his face.

"Where did you get that information?" he yelled at no one in particular.

"It's all in the Daily Prophet dear, what's got you so worked up?" Mrs. Weasley responded.

Ed snatched the newspaper from Mr. Weasley and scanned through the article, looking for any more information. Based off of what was reported, there was nothing more of value other than what he already knew, and it was so short compared to the other articles that it didn't even look like a problem.

"Do you know something about this Edward?" Lupin calmly asked. Ed looked up with his fear ridden eyes and hesitated before saying something. How much could he tell them?

"Everyone needs to be protected, this is worse than any person you've probably dealt with before. This is really bad, I don't even know if Hogwarts will be safe…" Ed started thinking through options of what to do in his head, oblivious to the confusion of the others.

"We get that murders are terrible, but one single person isn't much compared to all of the death eaters on the loose now. Hogwarts will be protected like it has been all year, and the Aurors will probably take care of it," Mr. Weasley said in a reassuring manner.

"No! You don't understand!" Ed yelled as he was cut off from his thinking. He didn't know how he was supposed to explain how dangerous the situation was without revealing everything. He was going to have to put all of his trust in them, there was nothing more he could do.

"I need you to trust me and believe me on this, and not tell a single soul what I'm about to say. Promise me that you'll keep your word," Ed sharply said, still pacing around the room.

"We promise, we just want to help," Lupin said while the others nodded. Was this the right choice? If Ed told them about everything, not just about Envy, he would be able to gain their trust, and possibly get help too. But at what cost? He sighed and sat down, after all, what more danger could he possibly be in? As long as the ministry didn't find out about him, nothing was worse than being targeted by a homunculus. He had friends now, people to protect.

"This murder wasn't caused by a human, it was the work of a homunculus named Envy," Ed stated to the puzzled faces of the others. "Envy is an artificially created human, which means that he regenerates health, and is nearly impossible to kill."

"How do you know about this Edward? Have you encountered this… homunculus before? Why haven't we heard about this?" Lupin asked with a worried expression.

He'd have to tell them, there was no way out.

"Because Envy isn't from this world… and neither am I." Ed watched as their jaws practically dropped to the floor. They clearly looked swept away for words, stuttering to try to say something, so Ed decided to continue. "I'm from a parallel universe I suppose you could say, from a country called Amestris. I was taken here after I used alchemy to try to escape a defective portal, and Envy just happened to be there as well. I don't exactly know how it works, but the two worlds seem to be connected by a gate. I've been desperately searching for a way to get back, and now it's even more crucial that I get Envy back as well before he causes more extreme damage." Ed decided not to mention Ling, just for the sake of his cover in Hogsmeade.

There were no words to describe the dumbfounded looks on their faces, and they were clearly more shocked by this than the sight of Ed's automail.

"To be completely honest," Ed started, "I'm not even a wizard, I've never even heard of magic before I got here. Luckily the scientific power of alchemy was enough for me to hold my cover…"

"Why is it so difficult to return?" Lupin interrupted. "Couldn't you just do the same thing you did to get here?"

"Alchemy revolves around the law of equivalent exchange, in order to gain something you must give something back in return. I could probably get back if I found Envy, I used his base power to get here, the Philosopher's stone."

"But Dumbledore destroyed the Philosopher's stone!" Mr. Weasley said.

"He destroyed the magic version, there are many alchemic Philosopher's stones, and each of the seven homunculi have one as a base. The portal accepts them as payment because they're made from human souls." Ed finished with dark expression on his face. The others finally looked lost for words, and didn't say a thing as they stared at him with wonder.

Ed rolled his eyes, "So are you going to help or not? I need to catch him so we can return, that way you'll all be safe."

The next course of actions was the farthest from what he expected. Mrs. Weasley stood up and embraced Ed into a loving hug. It was different than the welcoming one at the train station, this one was more comforting.

"Of course we'll help you, in any way that we can," she said in the midst of the hug. It strangely reminded Ed of how his mother used to comfort him. "You're much too young to be faced with all of this, you've been forced to grow up too quickly."

She broke out of the hug, and Ed could swear that she saw a few tears glistening in her eyes. If she got so worked up over this much, he was glad she didn't know more.

"The first thing that you should do is tell Dumbledore," Lupin noted. "Once we're able to track him down, you can do what you have to do."

"Okay, but I don't want more people than needed getting involved, he's insanely dangerous and uncontrollable," Ed said. "It's getting late, I should probably get some rest before going back to Hogwarts. Thanks for all your help."

With that Ed returned to his room, but was oblivious to the three students lurking in the shadows.

* * *

The next day was a chaotic one, as everyone was packing and throwing their things together for their return to school. Ed barely had anything to pack, so he just sat back and watched as Mrs. Weasley fussed over the teenagers, trying to get them ready and neat. Ed still had a scar on his face from Lupin, but with some magical treatment it was starting to heal quickly. Lupin's arm was almost completely healed, which made Ed feel less guilty about hurting it.

While waiting for everyone to get ready, an overexcited made his way over to Ed, and was apparently not in the same shocked mood that he was the previous night, or he just didn't let it show.

"As you know, I work for muggle studies and I just love looking at mechanical devices and muggle creations, to try to see how they work without magic. Do you think I could…"

Ed knew exactly what the man was so eager to examine, and he let out a light chuckle. "Only once, and just because you've been so nice lately." He took off his coat and held out his right arm for Mr. Weasley to see and examine. He beamed with excitement and interest as he looked at all of the different components of Ed's automail. This behavior was extremely similar to Winry's when she saw Rush Valley, and very similar to how everyone there gawked at his arm the same way. Mr. Weasley was entertained all the way until it was time to leave for Hogwarts, and Ed had to practically pry his arm away from him.

They would be leaving by floo power, which was a new concept to Ed. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all stood around the fireplace, surrounded by what looked like a plant pot filled with ash. Once Ed joined them, they gathered their belongings and prepared to depart the burrow. Mrs. Weasley was hugging them all goodbye, and looked downright distraught. Once she finally reached Ed, she burst into tears, and hugged him the longest of all.

"Stay safe, I wish you the best," she said between tears as the others watched awkwardly. One by one they threw the powder into the fire, said "Hogwarts," and were then swept away by the green flames. Once they were gone, Ed was the last one at the burrow, and he hesitantly walked into the fireplace.

"Good luck Ed, we'll try to keep in contact as much as we can," Lupin said.

"Thank you, for everything," Ed smiled as he reached for the powder. He threw it down and the green flames engulfed him. He started to say "Hogwarts," but he inhaled some of the ash, causing him to choke, unable to finish. Before he could correct himself, he began spinning, and his last view of the Burrow was gone. Ed couldn't see a thing, and he felt like he was being stretched apart. The feeling was nauseating, and it seemed to go on forever. Just before he felt like he was about to be sick, he tumbled out of a fireplace, covered in soot. He looked up, but what he saw wasn't Hogwarts.

Ed looked around at the room he landed in, and stumbled out of the fireplace. There were a few tables and kegs of alcohol, but nobody was present. He could hear muffled noises coming from below, so he followed the sound down a flight of stairs. He sighed in relief when he realized that he was only in The Three Broomsticks at Hogsmeade, which wasn't far from Hogwarts. He walked through the mass of drunken wizards and witches and was about to leave when he saw a familiar face. _'Yep, that's Ling alright.'_

"Hey Ling, get your ass over here!" he yelled, trying to get his attention. Ling spun around and when he noticed Ed, he excitedly called him to a table in the corner of the pub.

"Hey Ed! You'll never guess what I did! I got a job! An actual job! Now I can make some money _and_ eat all the food I want!" Ling grinned with satisfaction. He called for some drinks and passed one to Ed, a smile still on his face.

"So that means I don't have to pay the tab this time, right?" Ed scowled.

"Hey I said I made _some_ money, not a lot of it! You could take care of something small, right?"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMALL?" Ed screamed while Ling laughed.

"I would be telling you to get the hell out of here by now, but there's some things I need to talk to you about first." Ed said, still scowling. "Have you been keeping up with the news at all?"

"The only news I've read is the menu," said Ling. Ed rolled his eyes and pulled out the newspaper he kept, slapping it on the table in front of Ling.

"Tell me what this looks like to you," he said. Ling read the paper, and soon the smirk was wiped right from his face.

"You don't mean…" Ling started, and Ed nodded his head.

"We need to stay on careful watch, I need you to guard Hogsmeade and look for any signs of him. If you see anything suspicious, send me a letter right away. Although he's dangerous, he might be our only way back."

"I'll be careful, but you should tell that headmaster of yours what's going on too, the last thing we need to happen is an attack on the school. The last time we saw him we were almost goners," Ling said.

"I'll keep it under control for now, but we don't have much time before things get out of hand. Speaking of that, they're probably still looking for me back at the castle." Ed got up from the table and began to leave when Ling raised a finger. "No I am _not_ paying!"

* * *

Once Ed was back at the castle, he didn't hesitate before running to the headmaster's office. He still wasn't happy with Dumbledore, but he had to warn him, for the sake of the school. Once he got there, the large gargoyle statue stood in his way. He tried the password he was told at the beginning of the year, but the statue didn't budge.

"Move it before I break you to pieces, I need to see Dumbledore," he snarled at the statue. Surprisingly, it moved aside, and Ed was able to ride up the moving spiral staircase until he was greeted with a large wooden door. He kicked it open and stormed in, in his usual fashion.

Dumbledore sat at his desk, eyes glistening, and watched as Ed stomped over to him.

"There's an emergency. You need to put as many security measures on the castle that you can." Ed said, looking the headmaster in the eyes.

"The castle is already very protected Edward, what's wrong?"

"Since you did all your mind poking, you probably know about everything that happened that got me here. Apparently, the homunculus Envy got sucked in the portal too, and has already started killing. As you know, he can't be killed easily, so I need to track him down before he causes any more harm, and use his Philosopher's stone to leave."

"I see," Dumbledore calmly said. "I'll set up some extra security, and have guards set up to keep watch. Can you describe Envy for me?"

"There's not much to describe, Envy has the power to shape shift into anything. When he's not in another from, he usually comes across as a weirdo with long greenish hair, almost like a palm tree. He's pretty hard not to miss. He also has an Ouroboros tattoo on his left thigh."

"Thank you for the information, Edward. However, I would strongly advise to not go looking for a monster like this, at least without a plan. I don't want you to come into any harm," Dumbledore stated.

"I get that you're worried old man, but I can handle myself. I've fought Envy plenty of times, and I'm sure I could reason with him enough to get him to come back to Amestris," Ed scowled. He turned on his heel and left back out the door, to the Gryffindor common room.

Ed was greeted to the entire Gryffindor house on his return, but ignored them and went upstairs to throw down his bag.

"Where were you Ed?" Harry asked. "We were worried about you."

"I ended up in Hogsmeade, no reason to worry." he said before yawning loudly. "I'm going to get to bed, goodnight." Ed pulled back the curtain around his bed, and got out a paper and pen before going to sleep.

 _Alphonse,_

 _There might be a way for me to get home soon. There is a big chance that Envy is here, so if I'm able to track him down I can return with alchemy. I'm just worried that he'll attack people in desperation for answers, so I need to find him before anyone gets hurt. This is the first big lead I've had since I got here, so I'll make sure not to give it up. Although I'm determined to get back, it will be sad to leave these people behind. They've done so much to help me, and cared for me like nobody else has. I told Lupin and Ron's parents about my situation, so hopefully they'll be able to help. Don't worry Al, I finally might be able to come home, and then we'll be able to continue to reach our goal. I learned a bit about the Philosopher's stone too, and although it was destroyed here I'll keep looking for a way to get another. Helping you is my priority, and you know I'd never break a promise._

 _~Ed_

* * *

A/N: This was a very dialogue heavy chapter, but the story is starting to get exciting. There's still a long way to go, but now the plot is starting to become independent from one of Half-Blood Prince. Everything that's happening in that story is still going on, but it's not really the concern of Ed, or those of you reading because you probably already know it. Let me know what you think! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed! Thanks :)


	16. Contribution

**Contribution**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat huddled in the Gryffindor common room, well after dark. Ed was already fast asleep, and he didn't look like he could be woken easily

"So, we haven't really had much time to talk since that night, and I'm still rather confused about what Ed was talking about," Hermione said. "We must have missed something really important before we overheard the conversation, because everything he was saying about Philosopher's stones and some person named "Envy" made no sense."

"Yeah, he also said something about a portal, and homunculi? What does that even mean? Why is he so worked up about returning to someplace?" Harry questioned.

"Whatever is going on, I don't think Ed should handle it alone. He seems to know next to nothing about what's happening with Voldemort, and it would be completely stupid to just go out there trying to attack some murderer," Hermione added.

"Ed clearly knows more than we do though, what if it is just his problem? With his freaky limbs and the way he fought Lupin, he seems to be a lot better than us at hand-to-hand combat," Ron noted. Hermione had been almost completely ignoring him throughout the night, ever since Lavender made an entrance. He didn't know why she got so worked up when she was around, it must be a girl thing.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly Ron, even someone as skilled as Ed can't take down a group of Death Eaters, which is likely to show up if he goes picking fights."

"We should just keep on the lookout," Harry said before Ron and Hermione got at each others throats. "We'll keep track of everything as it happens, but there's nothing we can do now." The others nodded, and they left for their rooms to prevent any more tension.

* * *

The rest of January seemed to fly by, and Ed's ability to pay attention in class was dropping by the day. He was constantly scolded to pay attention, and even then he was lost in his mind. He had been frantically working with Ling to find any clues to Envy's whereabouts, but they had come up with nothing. His frustration from the beginning of the year was starting to show again, and it didn't go unnoticed.

"Hey Ed, are you going to sign up for Apparition? The lessons start soon, and all of the rest of us are doing it," Ron said to him in the common room.

"What's Apparition?" Ed asked.

"It's practically teleportation, where you can disappear and appear anywhere. It's a bit hard to master, but with classes you should be able to get a license at the end of the year."

"Hmm… that could come in handy I guess, although I do prefer traditional travel. I'll sign up, but I'll also drop out just as fast if I don't like it." Ed scowled.

So with that, the following week resulted in the first apparition lesson, and all the students that were 17 or turning 17 by August lined up in the Great Hall. The first out of place thing that Ed noticed were the multiple hoops lined up across the floor. A stuffy looking wizard named Wilkie Twycross introduced himself, and talked about some childish rule about "the three D's," destination, determination, and deliberation. Ed thought it sounded like complete crap, and it seemed to have nothing to do with teleporting, but he tried what the wizard said anyways.

Everybody stared into their hoops for the destination portion, and some checked around to see if others were doing the same. Closely after, they were told to focus on their determination, which caused many of them to strain up their faces into ridiculous expressions. Ed, of course, knew better than to make himself into an idiot, so he just looked in the direction of the hoop and followed the steps in his head. The last step was deliberation, and the teacher called for the students to begin to try to spin in place. Ed held back a laugh as many of the students began twirling in place, and fell back onto their rear ends. He tried it, while still thinking over the steps, but nothing happened.

This ridiculous process went on for many attempts, and it was starting to become less entertaining as everyone kept failing. Ed stopped and tried to clear his mind, focusing on the instructions given to him. He wouldn't stand for being as incompetent as the idiots in the school, and there wasn't one class that he had failed at so far. He stared in the direction of the hoop, and focused on the steps in his mind.

Ed spun on the spot, and felt something happen. It was like his body was being squeezed through a tube, and he could barely breathe. In nearly a second, he was a few feet over from where he started. Something was wrong.

He fell to the ground and looked over to where he came from. Something was there, _his right leg._

It was happening all over again, the same feelings he had when he lost his left leg. He could barely breathe, and his vision became hazy with images of the truth. One moment he was in the great hall, the other he was in his father's study, blood pouring from the spot where his left leg used to connect.

 _'This can't be happening again, not now, not when I'm so close! Why is it always me?!"_

The wizards rushed over and did a series of strange spells, and his leg was back exactly as it was before. Ed didn't notice though, he was still trapped in the flashbacks of his own mind, with the feelings he hadn't had since he was eleven.

"It was just a simple splinch, happens all the time. What's got you so worked up? You're fine!" the teacher said crossly.

Ed looked down, still horrified, and saw his leg, back as if nothing had happened.

"W-What did you do? How did you do that? How is it so simple for you crazy wizards to just reattach a limb like nothing had happened?!" He stood up, still shaky, and glared into the eyes of Wilkie Twycross. "Why the hell are you teaching this to kids?! Something so dangerous that they could just lose and arm or a leg! It may seem like nothing to you twisted freaks, but this isn't right! What if you weren't there to fix it, and some poor person just trying to get somewhere quickly had to live the rest of their life unable to do things they should be able to just because of a stupid mistake!"

Ed turned and stormed out of the great hall, climbing a random staircase to a place he didn't care about. As long as he was away from _them._ They just put him through that hell again and didn't even blink an eye, like it happened every day and they couldn't care less. This place was nothing like Amestris, it was just full of incapable wizards that were too nosy for their own good and had twisted views about the world. Even though the people were more harsh in Amestris, at least they had their heads on straight.

Ed continued to walk through the castle, filled with rage, and finally cracked, with every emotion that he had been bottling up for the last 4 months finally coming loose. He was angry and miserable, and just plain out tired. Tired of being alone, and tired of having to fight the battles of himself, as well as everyone he cared about. Why did one simple act of desperation and stupidity have to lead to his entire life being destroyed? He was no closer to helping his brother and he knew it, hiding behind a shield of false hope that would get him nowhere. He lived his life giving more and more to others, but receiving nothing in return. It was his actions that lead to the death of Nina and Hughes, as well as many more. It was far from fair, and he could see no equivalency in anything. Ed sat against the wall in a corridor and held his head in his arms. What was the point of always fighting if all it lead to was pain?

"You know Edward, it does no good to dwell on the events of the past and forget to live in the present," a familiar voice spoke softly. Dumbledore strode over to him, and sat beside him. "I've had my share of troubles as well, and saw the road ahead as hopeless. You mustn't focus on what can't be fixed, but what you can to do to make things right."

Ed looked up, and stared at the old man in curiosity. This was the same guy who invaded his mind and privacy, and yet here he was, spitting out advice.

"And what do you know? Just because you saw some things in my mind doesn't mean you understand what I've been forced to go through."

"I don't think that anyone can fully understand your situation, but that doesn't mean that others haven't felt the same way you do. You don't have to fight all your battles alone, there are plenty that would offer you a hand."

Ed looked back down at the ground. Maybe Dumbledore was right, but hadn't he asked for help already? Granted, it was only a few adults that he rarely saw, but it was something.

"Believe it or not, Harry and you have a lot in common, in more ways than you think. You both take pride in trying to fix everything alone, but your greatest strength is working with others."

Ed thought to the times where he stood alongside his brother and the people in the military. It was true that their work combined was stronger than when he tried to accomplish things alone, but this mistake was his to fix. He didn't want to get any more innocent people involved that would be at risk of getting hurt.

"Just think about it, I'm always here if you need me. I suggest you talk to Harry and his friends, they've been very worried about you, and I'm sure they'd be glad to help," Dumbledore said as he stood and walked back to his room.

* * *

Ed stayed in the hallway until he saw it turn dark outside, and then stretched and left to return to the common room. He faced his usual share of awkward stares, but he was used to it. Everyone whispered about him, and how he had overreacted during apparition practice, and some of them even acted like he was some child that lost their teddy bear. If there was one thing Edward Elric hated it was pity. He scowled at them and they backed off, not wanting to hear another rant like the one he gave earlier that day.

He sat alone in the corner and pulled out his coded travel log, adding more information to it, since he had nothing better to do. While he worked, he noticed a girl walking towards him out of the corner of his eye.

"Is there something you want?" he huffed, rather annoyed to be interrupted.

"Well…" the girl giggled. "Valentine's day is coming up you see, and I just wanted to give these to you and Harry…"

Ed rolled his eyes. A lot of the girls at Hogwarts found him attractive for some reason, but it never escalated into gift giving. Whatever this Valentine's day was, Ed already knew he didn't like it.

"Just leave it there I guess," he said after pointing to a nearby table, putting his attention back to his work. The girl seemed a bit put off, but she reluctantly did as he said. As she left, Ed glanced over to what she had brought, and almost gagged at the sight. It was two heart shaped boxes, covered in lace and glitter, that were filled with small heart shaped chocolates. Just as he was about to throw them away, Hermione came down the stairs to where he was.

"What are those?" she asked, pointing to the chocolate boxes.

"Just some dumb gift from this girl that I've never seen before," Ed shrugged while handing it to her to look at."

"Well you should at least try it! She probably went to a lot of work making those and you're just going to throw it away?" Hermione said while handing him back the heart box.

"Fine," Ed sighed. "this one was for Harry anyways." He reached into the box and ate a piece of chocolate that looked like it contained the least amount of milk. It was surprising very tasty, and filled Ed with warmth. He suddenly became very aware of the girl standing in front of him, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and he wanted nothing more than to be with her.

"Ed, you look weird, is everything okay?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Everything's fine, as long as you're here," he grinned, while moving up towards Hermione. "Your beauty is indescribable, it's like I'm looking at the most glorious landscape during sunset." Ed was practically whispering in her ear by now. "I'm glad that I could be in love with such an intelligent and amazing girl…"

Hermione quickly moved away from him, recognizing the effect of a love potion. She knew that Harry still needed to see Slughorn, so she figured that he could take him to get a cure, and still find a way to accomplish his goal. As she went to get Harry, however, Ed followed her every move, swooning over her and trying to seduce her. She bit back a laugh as she thought about how Ed would react to his own actions.

"Harry," Hermione awkwardly called as Ed started stroking and sniffing her hair. "We have a bit of a problem here, I think you should go see Slughorn." Harry looked confused until he saw what Ed was doing, and then broke into a laughing fit.

"Why would I see Slughorn when the one that I love so deeply is right in front of me?" Ed said in his trance-like voice.

"We'll all go then," Harry suggested, still holding back giggles.

They attracted a lot of strange stares as they walked through the castle, as seeing Ed like this was an almost impossible feat. As they neared the classroom, they heard another voice from behind them.

"Romilda Vane isn't here, is she? I want to see her, I love her after all." Ron dazedly said as he stumbled down the corridor. Harry and Hermione audibly groaned, and pulled Ron towards them. Ed, of course, didn't even notice the presence of him, and continued to obsess over Hermione.

"He must have gotten a hold of the other box," Hermione said. "I should have thrown it away before we left. I guess that's who made the boxes, but Ed is in love with me instead of her… I guess it's because he gave me the box and I gave it back, becoming the new distributor of the potion."

Harry agreed, and knocked on Slughorn's door once they arrived.

"It's late Harry, why are you bothering me at this time?" Slughorn yawned as he opened the door. "Dear me, what's up with those two?"

"Love potion," Harry and Hermione said in unison.

"We were just wondering if you could give them an antidote, and then we'll be on our way." Harry added.

"Oh fine, a little company never hurt," Slughorn grumbled as he let the group in.

He shuffled around in his cabinets before finally pulling out two vials of antidote, and gave one to Ron and the other to Ed.

"Drink this, because Hermione wants you to," Slughorn said to Ed. "And you, drink this because it'll calm your nerves before you meet up with whatever girl you love." he directed to Ron.

They both quickly drank all of the liquid, and their expressions turned confused.

"What the hell was I just doing?! Is this another one of your crazy magic tricks?!" Ed shouted, back to his normal self.

"You were under a love potion Ed, and you wouldn't get off of me until we gave you that antidote," Hermione said.

Ed's eyes grew wide, and his cheeks became red with embarrassment. "It just keeps getting worse and worse," he sighed while leaning back into a chair. Ron just sat on the couch, looking defeated, and didn't even glance in Hermione's direction.

"Nothing can't be fixed with a bit of fine spirits!" Slughorn exclaimed as he brought out a fancy looking bottle. He poured one for each of them, and slumped down in his chair. "I've been meaning to try this, but-" Slughorn stopped in his tracks as Ron fell out of his chair and dropped his glass. He began jerking uncontrollably, and started foaming at the mouth. Everyone froze at first, and then Harry and Hermione began scrambling around trying to find a way to help him.

Ed, without a plan, darted out of his chair and over to Ron. He had no idea what to do, and all he had was his alchemy.

 _'It hasn't been long since Ron swallowed the drink, if I heat up the air I could evaporate the mead so that it leaves his system, it's worth a shot.'_

He clapped his hands and placed them on Ron's throat, remembering every small thing that Colonel Mustang taught him about alchemy that involved heat and air. The space around Ron glowed blue, and when the light faded he had stopped jerking and was laying still. Ed checked his pulse, and found a weak but definitely steady beat. For once, Edward's actions had saved a life instead of ruining one.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the semi-late chapter, it just took me awhile to put together my ideas. One thing that I feel I need to address is the credibility of this story. I promise that I would never use or take the work of other authors, and I have no intention to. It was brought to my attention that there were a few stories written before mine that derived from the same general idea, but I hadn't even heard of them until before I wrote this chapter. I am trying my best to keep all of my ideas original and separate from anything I've ever read, because I respect the work of others. Many people writing FMA and Harry Potter crossovers will use similar ideas, it's just inevitable to avoid that. I'm sorry for any confusion I may have caused. Thank you to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed! I love you all more than you know, and every small contribution to this story fills me with the upmost joy. :) (sorry about the long and sappy author's note) (also, while writing this I imagined love potion Ed as Tamaki from Ouran Highschool Host Club, which I found to be really funny since they have the same voice)


	17. Future

**Future**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

In a few minutes time, Ron Weasley was perfectly safe in the sanctuary of the hospital wing. His body was completely rid of the poison, and he was under a dreamless drought as he went under some minor inspection by Madam Pomfrey.

"How in the world did you manage to do this? I've never seen anything like it!" the nurse exclaimed.

"It was just some simple alchemy, that's all," Ed said as he plopped down into a chair, followed by Harry and Hermione. Slughorn was still in his room, overwhelmed by the experience, but the others were exhausted.

"I feel _completely_ useless!" Hermione groaned. "I just ran around the whole time trying to find a cure! How could I have been so stupid to think that I would have enough time to brew something up or find a suitable antidote?"

"Before Ed got to him, I was about to give him a bezoar that I found in the cabinet. I almost completely forgot that it cured most poisons!" Harry said, annoyed.

"How did I not think of that? Ron probably would have been in much worse shape if it wasn't for Ed!"

"Can you please stop bickering about what _would_ have happened and just be fine with the fact that Ron is okay?!" Ed interrupted. "I get that my alchemy is amazing and fantastic or something but he almost died! Shouldn't we be focusing on why the hell he got poisoned in the first place?"

The others nodded, and Ron groaned in his sleep.

"Her-mi-neeee…"

Ed smirked, "Looks like someone has a secret lover…"

Hermione's cheeks grew red, and she looked away from the laughing Harry and Ed.

* * *

As lessons finished the next day, Ron was still in the hospital wing recovering, and Edward and Harry made their way to the Quidditch pitch to prepare for their upcoming game.

"What are you going to do now that Ron isn't here for a keeper?" Ed asked.

"I had to substitute him with Cormac McLaggen, I had no other choice," Harry sighed.

They neared the locker rooms, and an amused looking Malfoy brushed past them.

"Hey shorty, make sure to stay out of Potter's way, he might mistake you for the golden snitch," he laughed with his fellow team members.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT THE BROOMS AND TINY SMALL BALLS ARE BIGGER THAN HIM? I WOULD BACK OFF IF I WERE YOU UNLESS YOU WANT A FIST IN YOUR FACE AND A BROOM THROUGH YOUR THROAT!"

Draco continued to laugh. "Are you really telling me that a filthy little pipsqueak like you could give me anything more than a papercut?"

"I'll take you on any day Malfoy, I'll go right now if you want me to!" Ed yelled in rage.

"I'd like to see you try!"

Ed stomped up and slammed his fist into Malfoy's face, causing him to fall over backwards and hold his nose in pain. A small trickle of blood fell down to his lip, and his teammates immediately stopped laughing.

"You better watch out, Elric, or I'll be having some words with my father," he sneered.

"Ooooo I'm _so_ scared," Ed rolled his eyes as Draco and his friends stormed by, asking them if he was still bleeding.

"Now that's four of us on his bad side…" Harry said. "I'm surprised that didn't happen sooner though, he goes after anyone that is even friendly towards us. You should watch out, once he has it out for someone he will do everything he can to make their lives miserable."

"I've made enough enemies in my lifetime," Ed shrugged. "What's one more?"

* * *

The wind howled as the two teams gathered on the Quidditch pitch, trying to keep their hair and clothes from blowing all over the place. Ed rubbed his right shoulder as it slightly tensed up, and prepared to mount his broom to get the game over with. He knew that the chances of winning were slim with McLaggen as keeper, but it never hurt to try.

The whistle sounded and the teams mounted into the air, raising several feet before the balls were thrown into playing reach. The Slytherin team got a hold of the quaffle first, and they passed it down the pitch, keeping out of the Gryffindors' ways. Harry was clearly the fastest flier, which showed as he darted back and forth searching for the snitch. It was the only way the Gryffindor team could win with in their state, so he was extra cautious of everything he saw. Ed thought it was slightly unfair that some players could have better quality brooms than others, but he knew better than to question wizard logic.

"It's rather chilly today, but the clouds just look magnificent," a dreamy voice echoed over the grounds. Slytherin scored a goal right past McLaggen, but the commentator didn't seem to notice. "I love the way that Edward Elric of Gryffindor flies around, he makes it seem so easy and graceful, and I think the Slytherins are a bit jealous of it. I'd like to get to know him more, he seems quite nice. Oh, and now Ginny Weasley seems to have the quaffle, proving to the Slytherins that they shouldn't be so rude next time…"

The commentary continued on in the same manner, clearly distracted and unaware to what was happening in the game. Even Cormac was distracted, completely abandoning his post as keeper as he tried to show the Gryffindors how to play. The snitch wasn't in sight, and the Slytherin team was already ahead by 50 points. This was why Ed hated sports, it involved far too much reliance on the other team members.

McLaggen snatched the club from a beater and and tried to demonstrate how he thought was the correct way to hit a bludger, just as one came zooming in their direction. He swung the club, but was terribly off aim, and it went in the complete opposite direction as the Slytherin team, right towards Ed.

The black ball was hurtling straight at him, and there was no way he'd be able to move out of the way in time. Out of instinct, Ed held up his arm as the bludger collided with it, and he could hear the loud crunch of the cover breaking off, as well as a few screws coming loose. Luckily, the pieces remained in the sleeve of his coat, so the school was still unaware to what really happened.

Ed clutched at his arm and pretended to be in pain, to pull off the act of a broken bone.

It went rather well, resulting from only a few strange commentaries and worried glances from the team, not counting Cormac, who still looked smug. Ed managed to score a goal with his left hand, but not before long he heard a small pop, followed by the complete lack of movement from his automail. He couldn't even move the fingers, and he sighed at how Winry would react to it breaking over something as stupid as a sport played on brooms.

The game ended with a clear win from the Slytherin team, leaving the Gryffindors bitter over their embarrassing loss.

"You should go to the hospital wing immediately after that nasty hit to the arm, do you want me to take you?" the dreamy commentator girl asked as the teams headed back to the changing room. She looked off into the distance somewhere, but empathy was still visible on her face. "I'm Luna Lovegood by the way, it's nice to meet you. I'm glad to find out that you aren't infected with wrackspurts, I had to check before I talked to you."

"Thanks, but I'll be alright on my own," Ed said. This girl was definitely out of her mind, but at least she seemed nice, kind of in an Alphonse sort of way.

"Alright, but if you need any help fixing it I'm here. I've had a nice share of working with tools," she said as she turned around, her blond hair swaying behind her.

Ed looked back, startled over the strange girl. ' _How the hell did she know?'_

* * *

Back in the infirmary once again, Ed was finally able to inspect his automail. He sat on a bed next to Ron with the privacy curtain pulled around him, and pulled up his sleeve. The top plate was off, with wires hanging out of it and screws missing. Luckily, almost the same thing happened after the incident with the slicer at the fifth Laboratory, and by watching Winry he thought he had a pretty good idea at how to fix it. He couldn't completely reach the parts with the missing screws though, so clenching his teeth, he took it off to begin working on it. Madam Pomfrey was off getting him tools, leaving Ed alone with Ron.

"Argh… what did I miss?" He grunted as he woke, pushing himself up out of bed. "Oy, is that you Ed?"

Ed pushed back the curtain, and leaned back on the bed with his only arm. "Yep, we never seem to escape this stupid infirmary do we?

"What happened?" Ron asked, oblivious to the whole Quidditch fiasco.

"Cormac McLaggen is what happened. The stupid bastard was trying to show everyone how to do their job, and then hit a completely off aim bludger. Now I have to try to fix my arm on my own, but I guess it's a good thing that my mechanic isn't here…" he shuddered. "She'd beat me up a million times for this."

Ron laughed, but was interrupted by the sound of the door crashing open. A pale faced and angry Draco walked in, but stopped in his steps at the sight of a one armed Ed, looking completely startled at the unexpected guest. He grabbed the curtain and pulled it shut, while Ron stood up in front of it, blocking Malfoy. He pushed straight past though, and shoved open the curtain.

"Get out before I repeat what I did earlier," Ed glared at Draco.

He still looked shocked, and then spotted the broken automail arm laying off to the side.

"This isn't over Elric," his expression darkened as he left the hospital wing, slamming the door behind him.

This was bad, not only did Draco know about the automail, but he had connections to the ministry. If he had people investigate, it would only be a matter of time before Ed got brutally questioned and observed. Even in the wizarding world, technology of the sort didn't exist, and anyone in their right mind would be suspicious.

Ed groaned and plopped back on the bed, "Just my luck, and Malfoy of all people."

Pomfrey returned a couple minutes later with an assortment of tools, and Ed distracted himself by working on reconnecting the screws and top plate of the automail. It was still pretty bent and scratched up, but at least it was useable. He squeezed up his face as he reconnected the nerves, and tested out a variety of movements and stretches.

"So what are you going to do now?" Ron asked. Even he had his suspicions about Ed's strange behavior and advanced prothesis, but he, Harry, and Hermione tried not to let it show.

"I guess I'll just have to hope that the snob faced bastard keeps his mouth shut, and if he doesn't, I'll keep it shut for him." Ed replied.

* * *

Breakfast the next day was quiet, and everyone seemed to be focused on their own problems. Harry was still putting off his mission for Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione were still tense over the whole Lavender Brown fiasco, and Ed was worried about Malfoy, along with everything else he was dealing with. It wasn't the most sociable combination, but they all still managed to eat enough and prepare for their day of classes. The Slytherins seemed to behave as the usually did, so Ed assumed that Draco hadn't spilled anything yet. He was a bit shocked, after all the boasting he usually did, and wondered why he wouldn't immediately tell his housemates what he discovered.

Deciding to get a head start on his way to class, Ed gathered his things and left the other Gryffindors to finish their breakfast.

"Hey Ed, wait up!" Hermione called after him. She followed him out the great hall and they walked in silence to their first lesson. As they descended a staircase, a woman Ed had never seen before passed by, completely covered in shawls and beads, with large spectacles that made her eyes look twice their size. She looked clearly upset, and seemed to be muttering to herself. Before she could pass, however, she backtracked to where Ed was, and her eyes seemed to grow even larger, if that was possible. She put her hands on his shoulders, and looked into the distance, as if she was a completely different person.

"What's she doing…?" Ed whispered to Hermione as the woman continued to stare.

"She's nuts, she does it all the time." Hermione whispered back.

The woman began to speak, in a monotone and eerie voice, that looked far too deep and layered for the woman that it was coming out of.

" _As the fifth month dies, two worlds will bend as one… and an evil will break out that has never been witnessed before… only the one who has faced Truth and has stepped foot in both worlds will be able to vanquish this evil…regaining what was lost, and bringing forth a great power that no other holds…"_

The woman collapsed and Hermione rushed to her aid, but Ed continued to replay the words of he just heard over again in his head. ' _Whatever just happened, it seemed to be some sort of prophecy… There's no other person that that could be about, it had to have been me… but what was all that about vanquishing evil, and a great power? She also mentioned regaining what was lost, if whatever she said had true meaning, then that means Al is a part of this too, and he might actually get his body back… But what about the two worlds becoming one? I have no clue as to how that'll happen, but before I overthink about any of this I need to understand what just happened.'_

Ed turned and started running to Dumbledore's office, the only person that he knew would understand something like this.

"Who's the lady with the crazy glasses and shawls?!" Ed yelled as he stormed in the room in his usual fashion.

"I believe you're talking about Professor Trelawney, the teacher of Divination." Dumbledore responded with his typical calm nature.

"Well whoever she is, she was just telling some kind of crazy prophecy, and I don't know how she knew about all of that stuff. I need you to tell me if what she says is just nonsense, or if it's actually true."

Dumbledore looked taken aback, since Trelwaney had only made two true prophecies previously. "In order to determine if the prophecy was true, I would need to hear it. I know you're against this, but the only way I can tell is if I extract the memory from you.

"Whatever it takes, this could be the biggest lead I get, even though I didn't entirely understand what she was talking about."

Dumbledore pulled out his wand and placed it to Edward's temple. "Try to focus on the memory, and remember it as well as you can."

Ed did as he said, and Dumbledore pulled back his wand, which was tailed by a shining blue wisp of light, looking neither solid, liquid, or gaseous. He pointed his wand towards a cabinet in the far back of his office and a stone basin came floating out, landing in front of him. Dumbledore placed the blue strand into the bowl, and strangely, stuck his head inside of the bowl. Ed stared in confusion at what he was doing, but in no time he lifted up his head again, and his face was etched with worry, an expression Ed had never seen the man wear.

"That prophecy was indeed true, but even I do not completely understand what it meant. There is no way of telling what exactly this great evil is, but it seems to be much more than just Voldemort. You as well as Harry seem to both play a large role in whatever is happening, and it's approaching sooner than I thought. I will need to prepare, as the fifth month, May, is only two months away. Thank you for sharing this Edward, I believe that this could completely change everything that we have been preparing for. For now, just try to stay safe, there's nothing more that can be done. I will need time to comprehend this." Dumbledore began writing on a piece of parchment, and Ed left the room more worried than when he came in.

Whatever was coming, Ed wasn't ready to be the key part in it. However, this could be his only chance at fixing his mistakes. He just hoped that more people wouldn't be hurt in the process.

* * *

A/N: A lot of things just happened in this chapter, which will play a _huuuuge_ role in the rest of the story! I've been working on revising the early chapters lately since I just noticed how poorly I made them, so they should be easier to read now. (I fixed the whole Fred and George at Hogwarts mess too) I feel like the events in this story are going to switch like the first season of Brotherhood to the last one, and it's almost laughable at how simple the first chapters are to how different the later ones will be. I feel like with this story I've been improving as a writer a lot, which is one of the main reasons that I'm writing it.

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, and if you haven't I'd love to hear what you have to say, no matter what it is. All feedback is appreciated! :)


	18. Reunion

**Reunion**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

The next couple of weeks seemed to pass much faster than anyone had anticipated. It was already the first of April, and the cool air finally seemed to die down, leaving blooming flowers and a thin layer of morning dew. Edward's state was getting worse from the stress placed on him by the prophecy, and he was so reserved that nobody saw him very often. He was either frantically searching the library or writing in journals, and the circles under his eyes were defined and dark. A lack of sleep had certainly taken its toll, and the bed was often left untouched. Hermione, of course, had kept most of the information she learned to herself, not wanting to increase the weight of problems placed on Harry.

Unbeknownst to Ed, the castle was overflowing with pranksters ready to carry on the legacy of Fred and George, as it was April Fool's day. The holiday didn't exist in Amestris, which led to Ed being extremely confused by the amount of pranks he witnessed. It all started when he was taking yet another trip to the library, an overwhelming stack of books in his hands.

"Oooooo I don't think I've ever seen you before! What are you, a first year? Even for a first year you sure are shrimpy!" an unknown voice rang through the halls. Ed spun around frantically looking for the source of the voice, but couldn't find anyone. As he angrily spun around again, a thick piece of chalk was thrown at his head, causing him to drop all of his books. He growled under his breath when he reached down to pick them up, only to be greeted with a kick to the rear end, causing him to fall over on his face. The strange voice began laughing again, and Ed looked up to see a small floating man in outlandish clothes, who proceeded to keep throwing chalk at him.

Ed was practically steaming by now, and was aimlessly lashing out into the air when Ron walked up behind him, laughing even harder than the poltergeist.

"I see you've finally ran into Peeves, it's a wonder he never bothered you before!" Ed turned to glare at Ron. "I mean, not that he'd have a reason to…"

"Would you look at that! Potty's friend came to join us!" Peeves taunted as he threw the entire box of chalk at Ron's head, making him slip and fall. Ed began giggling and then doubled over from laughing so hard, as Ron's face became as red as his hair.

Aside from the anger and annoyance at being pranked himself, Ed couldn't help laughing at the misfortunes of others throughout the day. This was quickly becoming his favorite holiday so far, and he promised himself to bring the tradition back to Amestris. This was the first time he had laughed in weeks, so he enjoyed every moment of being able to ignore his stress and problems to have a fun time. He helped change the material in Harry's glasses to make everything look upside down, and assisted in trapping the Slytherins behind a chalkboard. It was safe to say that in the period of a day, he became one of Peeves' favorite students since Fred and George left.

Hermione couldn't help but smile as she saw Ed laughing throughout the day, hands actually free from books. She knew that this was how he used to be, before everything bad seemed to happen to him. She became even more determined to help with what was wrong, if it meant regaining this playful personality to the seemingly broken boy.

It didn't last long, however. Just the next day everything went back to how it used to be, a hunched over body over a table of books, darkened eyes, and a desperate expression. It was nearly midnight, and she and Ed were the only ones still left in the common room. Hermione sighed at the return to the same expressionless, almost inhuman obsession, and decided to take charge.

She marched over to the table where he was and sat down in front of him, but his eyes were still glued to the books and journals. "Ed, tell me what in the world you're trying to do, I can't stand seeing you like this anymore."

Ed didn't even flinch, and didn't even seem to acknowledge the fact that Hermione was sitting in front of him.

"I heard the prophecy too Ed, and I didn't just brush it off. You can't keep this from everyone, especially if it ends up being true. I don't know how much of it pertained to you, but you clearly seem to be bothered by it. You can't do everything alone you know! How do you think I feel by watching you be like this? Useless! Absolutely useless! It's like you completely ignore the fact that we know you enough to tell when something is wrong! You're acting just like Harry, by putting all of the pressure on yourself thinking you have to be a hero or something! Even though I don't know what's going on, it's not hard to see that you're just being an idiot!"

"This isn't something that you can help me with Hermione," Ed said quietly, finally looking up from his work. "I get that you think that you're a part of this, but there is honestly nothing you can do. Everyone here seems so damn obsessed with trying to get involved in other people's problems. You know _nothing_ , nothing about this burden I've been forced to carry. First it's a promise, then it's an expectation. I have people relying on me back home, people I can't even see or talk to! Do you know how hard that is, to have _nobody_ who understands? I'm no hero, not even close. I'm doing what I _have_ to do, what I promised. It's just pretty damn hard when I have no idea what the hell I'm even doing!" Ed slammed his fist into the table.

"That's exactly what I'm trying to say," Hermione said calmly. "I know that you know that this promise you're trying to keep can't be kept alone. Sure we don't get it, but we can still support you through this. All I ask is for you to tell me, I want you to go back to being the carefree person I know you once were."

Ed sighed and rubbed his face in his hands, dropping the agitated expression. "Just give me some time, I'm almost there. I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of me. I will tell you when I have to, but you seem to have enough problems already. If it makes you feel better I'll even try to sleep more."

Hermione's expression turned from hopeful to disappointed, and she got up to leave, as Ed didn't seem interested in talking anymore.

"Just be careful, I know you'll accomplish your goal, but that doesn't mean you have to be so stressed out along the way," she said, walking up the stairs to her room.

* * *

Walking to yet another class, Ed couldn't help but think about what Hermione said. He knew that he was trying way too hard and getting nowhere, and even Dumbledore could see that. He had his reasons for staying quiet though, and luckily nothing big was going to happen until the end of May. Granted, that was only next month, but he would pull something together, he always did.

Surprisingly, Dumbledore strolled down the corridor, right up to Ed. Nobody else was around, and nothing major had happened lately. What could he want?

"Hello Edward, I was just on my way to my office, may we have a word please?"

"Uh sure, but I haven't found anything new if that's what you wanted to know."

"Oh don't be silly, I just wanted to have a nice stroll and chat between headmaster and student, nothing else," Dumbledore smiled.

"That's fine sir, but I really need to get to potions, we're taking a test today."

"Then we'll go the long way! I'm sure the Professor wouldn't mind as long as I'm with you, and I will make sure that you get your exam finished."

Confused, Ed proceeded to follow Dumbledore down the many hallways of Hogwarts, until they were near the dungeons, where Slughorn's class was held. Although Dumbledore said he wanted to have a chat, Ed found it strange that he hadn't said anything the entire time they were walking, or that he never said Slughorn's name, like he usually did when addressing the professor. Something wasn't right.

Dumbledore suddenly stopped, still a ways from the classroom, and turned around to face Ed. He put a hand on his shoulder in a comforting way, and flashed a wide smile. His hand moved to Ed's neck and pushed hard on a certain spot, before he could do anything to react. He instantly saw black spots line his vision, and then there was nothing.

* * *

Ed awoke to darkness. He couldn't see anything around him, and he could tell he was on the cold, hard floor. His hands were tied behind his back and chained to a wall, and his mouth was covered as well. He tried to bite it off, but the bound was far too tight around his face. Struggling against the chains, he tried to move his arms to clap, but they were tied in a way that prevented all contact between his hands.

After around 15 minutes of struggling and waiting, Ed could hear the sound of a door opening in the distance, and then quickly closing and bolting shut. The loud thump of footsteps grew closer and closer, until "Dumbledore" came into view.

"You always have been such an idiot, haven't you pipsqueak?"

Ed scowled, knowing what was coming, and watched as red sparks shot up out of the shape of Dumbledore, turning into the homunculus he always dreaded to see. _Envy._

"It took that old man long enough to finally run away. I thought I'd be waiting _ages_ for him to leave! You're probably glad to see me though, aren't you? Now you can finally return to your _precious_ brother and your _beloved_ Amestris. As for me, I've been spying on everyone here so I can figure out how their 'magic' stuff works. Of course, there's no way I'd tell you what I need it for, but I finally have enough information to bring back to Father. He probably won't mind me being gone, after all, we've already been waiting for hundreds of years, what's one more? All I need now is for you to make another transmutation circle so we can get the hell out of here!" Envy walked up and bent down to Ed, removing the cloth from his mouth and unlocking the chains. "Anything you wanted to do here you can forget about, we're leaving!"

"Did you really have to tie me up? That just seemed like extra work on your part Envy," Ed groaned as he stood up and stretched.

"Oh shut it pipsqueak, I couldn't have had you running away, could I? I left enough space to make the circle, so get to work."

After all this time there was finally a way out. A way to see Al again, and help him get his body back. But why did it seem so wrong? His way of escape was right in front of him, and yet he felt obliged to something in this world. It was strange, but he almost didn't want to leave. He had people that cared about him in both worlds now, and in this one he had actually belonged. Friends, welcoming arms, and people that wouldn't stop trying to help until they knew it was okay. They had made him feel less like an adult, and more like an ordinary teenager, someone who wasn't forced to grow up too fast.

But it wasn't home. Home was Resembool, home was _Al._

Ed had made his decision. "I'll do it, but not without Ling. We came here together, and we'll leave together."

"You mean that idiot prince? Why would you want him, you barely know the guy!" Envy snarled.

"A deal is a deal Envy, you know that I'm your only ticket out of here. I want you out of this place as much as you do. The last thing this world needs is more killers, especially more like you. The sooner we get Ling, the sooner we leave. He's in Hogsmeade, and you'll probably find him eating something."

"You're just determined to make this more work, aren't you? Fine, _I'll_ get the prince, you stay here so I know you won't fetch more people." Envy then transformed once again, and was identical to Ed. "He probably only trusts you, so I'll only be able to get him to come as you." Envy smiled.

It was definitely weird for Ed to see himself standing in front of him, but he knew it was the only way Ling would go through with anything.

"Just try to act believable, and don't do anything that makes me look stupid!"

"Believable? _Please._ All you do is blab about alchemy and scream at people when they call you short. I'd hardly call that a difficult job." Envy smirked, and then strolled out the door with far too much pep to be Ed.

"That's not how I walk!" Ed yelled at his imposter as the door shut behind him. He sighed and started to get to work on the transmutation circle that would take him back to Amestris.

* * *

Draco stood outside the dungeon door that he just saw Dumbledore walk through. Something was definitely strange, and it was his job to report anything unusual. He had avoided telling about Edward's mechanical arm for now, even though he had no idea why. Maybe it just felt like not enough information, or maybe it was the fact that he was so downright afraid of approaching any of the death eaters, in fear that they would scold him over not fulfilling his mission. Whatever it was, he brushed it aside, and focused on the task at hand.

Draco listened to a very strange conversation, one that didn't even make sense. What was Amestris, and why was it so essential to return? If Ed was going to make some sort of alchemy circle, it definitely wasn't something normal. On top of all that, there was someone who could change appearance at will, who didn't even seem to know anything about magic. The most concerning thing was the fact that they had mentioned waiting _hundreds_ of years. If there were more immortal people out there, Voldemort would kill to know more. This was definitely something that needed to be reported, and it might even be another shot at mercy. Draco moved away from the door to avoid being seen, and made his way to see Snape.

* * *

Envy disguised himself as an owl and hurried to the village, keeping out of sight. It was just his luck that after months of gathering information, he would be stuck doing another mission for the stupid alchemist. Envy had been forced to disguise as various animals, from owls to bugs, just to spy on what was going on in the castle, and it was exhausting. Pitiful humans were bad, but these wizards were even worse. Despite containing a huge amount of power, all they used it for was pointless things like levitating items and turning cups into rats. Where was the fun in that?

It was inevitable that at least someone would die at Envy's hands, and one of those annoying wizards had finally drove him off the edge. Babbling about their "Dark Lord" and how he was so great, _please._ Envy doubted that the man's powers were anywhere close to his own. One good thing that came out of the encounter was that this man was supposedly an "immortal" wizard, who seemingly came back from the dead. Alchemically speaking, that was proven impossible, but magically speaking, who knew what was possible. If these "wizards" had more people that could contribute to the making of the country's Philosopher's Stone, and Father's approach at becoming "God," then Envy wanted to know everything he could.

After reaching Hogsmeade, the homunculus transformed back into Ed and went inside the first food place he saw, and lucky enough, the prince was there. What was his name again?

"Hey! You!" Envy/Ed called to Ling, who instantly spun around with a plate of food in his hands.

"Oh hey Ed! Find anything new?" Ling asked as he set down his tray of food.

"Actually, I did! I need you to come back to the castle with me, I think I finally figured it out!" Envy/Ed smiled. He tried to look out of breath, like he had run here excitedly with information, and beckoned Ling to follow him out the door.

"Wait!" Ling called from behind him, hurriedly catching up. He grabbed Envy/Ed's right wrist and then spun him around.

"Why-" He froze in his tracks, eyes narrowing.

"You aren't Ed." Ling scowled. "That wrist isn't automail!"

Envy laughed, "It doesn't matter! The pipsqueak is waiting for you, but he refused to leave until I came to fetch you. Nothing personal."

"I don't trust you. For all I know you could have him locked up and are just trying to get rid of me or something!"

"You can trust me on this one, I want to get back just as much as you both do, and now we can! So hurry it up before I make you follow me!"

Ling scowled but followed Envy nonetheless. If Ed really was waiting for him, there was nothing more that he could do. Although he didn't show it, he was just as desperate to go back as the others. He had a duty to fulfill in Xing, and he had been gone far too long.

They walked quickly on the path back to the castle, making sure to stay out of the way of others.

"How will we get inside? Aren't there a bunch of wards and stuff on the castle?" Ling asked.

"Leave that to me," Envy grumbled. He transformed from Ed to Dumbledore, and walked up to one of the ministry guards standing watch in front of the castle.

"Returned already Headmaster?"

"I'm afraid so, I forgot one of my important possessions before I left, so I will only be stopping by for a bit. On my way back I found this interesting traveller who was gravely injured, so I'm escorting him inside for a few potions. It shouldn't take very long."

"Very well, good luck with whatever you're doing," the guard said as he opened the front gate to the castle.

Luckily, classes were still going on, so the corridors were empty. Envy had turned back into Ed to blend in more, and Ling was hurrying being him, trying not to get distracted by the amazing views inside the castle. They were almost to the dungeon with the real Ed inside when all of the students started emerging from their classrooms.

"Damn it!" Envy growled under his breath. "Hurry it up! You don't exactly blend in here!" Just as they were outside the room, a girl with frizzy brown hair spotted Envy/Ed and started walking towards him. He quickly pushed Ling into the dungeon behind him, and tried to look as much as an angsty teenager as he could.

"Hey Ed! Why weren't you in class? Don't tell me you were back in the library!"

"Sorry about that, I just had to check up on a few things." Envy/Ed said, rubbing the back of his head.

The girl frowned, "You told me you would lay off it a bit! Honestly Ed, you've been looking like you're about to drop dead with how little sleep you've been getting! At this point, I'd rather you just go to your room and sleep if it meant missing your classes!"

"Maybe that's just what I need, I guess I'll go and do that, I'm just now noticing how tired I really am," he put on a fake yawn and rubbed his eyes.

Hermione looked slightly confused at how easily he agreed with her, and she figured it was because he was so overtired he wasn't thinking straight.

"Alright then, just promise me you'll actually sleep!" She scolded him.

"Yep, you have my word, I'll see you later then," Envy/Ed said as she walked away, looking back at him worriedly. As soon as she was gone, he quickly disappeared behind the door behind him, turning back into his usual form.

"Why do all these humans have to be so damn _annoying?!"_ Envy groaned, rubbing his face. Inside, the real Ed was standing next to Ling, a completed transmutation circle at their feet.

* * *

"They said _what?!"_ Snape snapped at Draco, after hearing the news of the conversation that happened inside of the dungeon.

"You heard me, immortality, and some sort of place I've never heard of. They're creating a huge alchemy circle thing, I don't know exactly what it's for but it seems really important," Draco stammered.

Snape slammed open the door and pointed out of it. "Lead me to them immediately!" He yelled at Draco. The boy led him to the dungeon, and they stood outside the door once again, trying to hear what was going on.

* * *

"So it's really ready?" Ling asked. "All you have to do is clap your hands and we'll be back in Amestris? How do you know that we'll actually end up there this time?"

"As long as we focus on where we're going, the portal should lead us through to the other side. Since Gluttony's portal was somewhere between the two worlds, it just spat us out on the opposite side. With how we are now, we shouldn't get stuck in the middle, and should pass right through to Amestris. At least that's my theory… but we won't know until we actually try it," Ed answered.

"Then get started! We don't have all day!" Envy said with his hands on his hips.

Ed hesitated, still wondering if this was really the right idea. He felt guilty about leaving everyone behind without saying anything, very guilty. It was probably for the best though, because if he told them they would either want to go after him, or tell someone else. He would never forget them, that was a guarantee, but he hoped that they would be able to accomplish their goals as well.

Taking one last look at the home he had had for the last 7 months, he clapped together his hands, and slammed them to the transmutation circle covering the dungeon floor. Blue alchemic light filled the room, and the circle glowed an eerie red. Just like when he attempted human transmutation, a large eye split from the ground, and small black hands raised out of it.

"Jump in, both of you! I don't know how long this one will hold!" Ed yelled over the loud noise. Ling and Envy obeyed his orders and jumped into the middle, slowly getting dissolved by the hands and transmutation. Ed was just about to jump in as well, when a pair of arms grabbed him around the waist and pulled him away from the circle, cutting off the reaction. Envy and Ling were gone, and the portal was shut. Gone. Forever.

"STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Ed cried as he was pulled from the room. He spun around to see the face of Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy staring back at him.

"What do you think you were just doing Elric?! I need an explanation, and I need one now!" Snape shouted.

"No! Do you know what you have just done? You ruined it! All of it! Let me back now!" Ed yelled, trying to break away from the arms pulling him back. It was over, he already knew it. Once the soul payment was gone, he couldn't get through unless he sacrificed something else. His only way back to Amestris was lost.

"We're going to keep you under close watch from now on Elric, there is no way you can be trusted with power like this on your hands," Snape snarled.

" _Stupefy."_

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the cliffhanger! It's finally spring break, so I should have tons of time to write. Expect more updates than usual this week, I'm really getting into it now! There were a ton of scene changes in this chapter, so sorry if that got confusing. I tried to split them all up with those line break things so it makes it easier. As you saw, it's really starting to get intense, so get excited! Please leave a review of anything you have to say, it's much appreciated! Once again, thank you so much to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed previously! See you soon, and I hope you enjoyed! ;)

*writes chapter while listening to FMA:B soundtrack*


	19. Boundaries

**Boundaries**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

Colonel Roy Mustang groaned at the sight of his ever growing stack of paperwork. Ever since the mysterious disappearance of Fullmetal, Roy's workload seemed to increase dramatically, free from distractions and field missions. On top of the paperwork, Alphonse was staying at headquarters, creating an extra level of stress. Roy couldn't blame the boy for sticking around though, he had gone seven months without his brother and was quickly losing hope. Without Edward, there was no leverage to hold on to, and nobody who truly understood him.

Roy couldn't help but feel guilty about it all. It was he that let Ed, Ling, and Al go alone to deal with Gluttony, and now he was paying the consequences. He didn't deny that he too cared for the boy, almost five years of military employment would do that. He missed the constant presence of the Elric brothers, despite how obnoxious and loud their visits always were. Ed had made a lasting impact on Roy's entire team, and they had all been cheering on him to accomplish his goals.

After a month, Roy had began to accept the fact that Ed was gone forever, in contrary to Al's constant attempts to find him. It was hard, he felt like a failure, and he couldn't even trust himself anymore to lead simple investigations. A grown adult was one thing, but a sixteen year old was far too young to die, let alone go on dangerous missions alone. After six months had passed, he had considered the idea of a memorial service, but that was quickly shot down by Al. He admired the boy's perseverance, but he had almost became obsessive in nature, which was easy to spot even without a body.

It had rained a great deal in the past seven months.

Another day of paperwork, another day of the same boring routine. Roy sighed and began to mindlessly flip through the stacks of paper on his desk, when he was suddenly greeted to the door to his office crashing open. At first glance, it was exactly the same noise that Fullmetal made when he made his grand entrances, but at a second look it was clearly not Ed standing in the doorway. He had gotten his hopes up for nothing.

The boy storming into the room, however, looked vaguely familiar… Roy knew that face…

Panting heavily, hands on his knees, he looked Roy straight in the eyes. "Edward Elric is still alive… just made it out… he's still there… grabbed by someone…"

Roy shot up out of his seat, papers flying everywhere. It finally had clicked in his mind, this was the other boy, the Xingese prince, who had disappeared as well. Ling Yao.

"What do you mean still there?! Where is he?!" he yelled, still trying to maintain the calm demeanor of a Colonel.

"Just let me catch my breath… I'll tell you everything."

* * *

After some mindless struggling, the big picture had finally sunk in. Not only was Ed stuck in the dungeon, but he was completely stuck in the world he was in now. He was back to square one, with no leads on how to return to Amestris. Hopefully Ling had arrived back safely, and was able to tell the news, but there was no telling what anyone would do from there. All he could be content with was the fact that Al knew he was alive, but that could end up being a problem as well. Now that Al knew where he was, he would stop at nothing to try to get him back. Ed only hoped that he wouldn't do anything stupid, but there was no guarantee. He knew what it was like to be alone, and for Al to suffer for that long without him would easily drive him on edge. His final chance at reuniting with his brother, and it was gone. Al would have to sit through even more long nights, and it was all because of his carelessness.

Once again, Ed was trapped, stuck in the foreign land he had grown so accustomed to. Surrounded by people that knew nothing about his life, and yet still tried to get involved. Although he was angry beyond measure, Ed felt a little relieved that he still had the chance to properly talk to his friends. The one time he actually was bearable enough to make them and gain trust, and he betrayed them all the same. At this point, what was right and what was wrong? Ed knew that returning to Amestris was the answer, but he shouldn't have been such an idiot about it. He had spent seven months in another world and yet he still rushed his return out of desperation. That wasn't the way he was supposed to think, it was what had almost gotten him killed by Scar and the Slicer at the Fifth Laboratory. If he was a "genius," then why wasn't he thinking like one?

Pulling Ed from his thoughts, Snape entered the room with Draco following close behind, both having expressionless gazes across their faces.

"It took you long enough to wake up," Snape sneered. "There is no doubt that whatever you're trying to accomplish involves extremely dark magic, and you aren't leaving until I get to the bottom of it." He moved closer, so that he was looking right into Ed's eyes. "I haven't trusted you since the start Elric, I always knew that you were up to something no good, and this just proves my point. I even kept your strange metal prosthetics a secret, and you're lucky that I did that much for you. So tell me this Elric, who are you working for? Is it some dark organization that sent you to spy on Hogwarts? Or perhaps the Dark Lord put you up to this?"

"I don't work for anyone, and you never would have seen me again if you hadn't stopped me. But guess what?! You RUINED everything, and nothing can change that! So do whatever the hell you want to me, because I couldn't care less! I've had enough of this

place, nothing you do now will change anything!" Ed yelled in his face.

"And what exactly did I stop you from doing?"

"Going home! You psychos wouldn't have had to deal with me anymore if you let me go through with it!"

"Why wouldn't you simply apparate or use floo power if you so desperately wanted to return 'home'?"

"First of all, would you stop including magic in all of this? I don't know anything about it, so how the hell could I 'apparate' or do this Dark Magic stuff? I'm an _alchemist_ , there's a big difference between that and all the hocus pocus stuff you lot are into. And it's not that simple to get back, but there's no way I'd tell you anything about it," Ed replied.

"Draco, hold him down," Snape demanded as he rummaged in the desk drawer behind him. Draco hesitantly walked up to Ed and held back his head and shoulders, trying to keep him from struggling. Snape returned holding a glass vial of clear liquid, and Ed knew immediately what it was from potions class.

"No way! I'm not letting you pry the truth out of me!" Ed yelled as he pulled away from Draco, kicking him in the stomach so he fell to the ground. Snape conquered up another set of ropes to bind Ed's legs to the chair, and he used a spell to keep him from moving his head as well.

Snape opened the vial and Ed watched as he tricked a few drops of the liquid down his throat.

"Now tell me where you are from," Snape coldly demanded.

Ed replied in an almost monotone voice, unable to control the words coming from his mouth. "Amestris."

"And where is that?"

"West of Xing and south of Drachma."

"Be more specific, how is it possible to get from here to there?"

"I believe it to be a parallel world, reached by passing through the Gate of Truth," Ed tried to resist the potion, squeezing up his face and trying to shut his mouth, but the answers continued to flow. He _hated_ magic.

"One last question," Snape said as he paced around the room, stopping once again in front of Ed's chair. "How does one pass through this 'Gate of Truth?'"

Ed tried with final efforts to keep himself from talking, but from lack of experience with magic he wasn't even able to close his mouth. "Human…Transmutation…"

He was left gasping for breath as his final answer came out, finally free from trying to struggle against the potion.

 _'Now these bastards know everything, it's only a matter of time before they share this information with someone else… but why should I care anymore? It's not like they could actually preform the transmutations, nobody here is an alchemist except me, and without Envy, there's no way to offer Truth a payment… one without blood that is…'_

 _"_ That will be all Elric, I'm giving you this charm so you can't speak of me using Veritaserum on you, other than that you're free to go." Snape flicked his wand and at once the ropes fell free from Ed's hands and legs. He stood and stormed out of the room as fast as he could, making sure to make a scene as he left.

"This information is classified as of now Draco, don't speak a word of what you heard to anyone. I will continue to look into this idea of a 'parallel world,' there's is no doubt that a world using powerful alchemy and containing immortal beings is a significant discovery. Many wizards would kill to get their hands on information of the sort, including the Dark Lord." Draco nodded and left the room, unsure of what he did was beneficial or destructive.

After Ed had left the room, he stopped and refrained from punching a wall. "Damn it…" He put both fists to the wall and ended up banging his head on it as well. Suddenly, a hand was on his shoulder, and he looked to see Hermione standing behind him.

"You could have just told us…" she said quietly. "We would have helped you, but honestly Ed, were you just going to leave us without even saying anything?"

"So you heard everything?" Ed sighed as Hermione nodded.

"I came back here after I noticed that you didn't actually go to the Gryffindor common room, and I managed to use a detection spell to find you and overhear everything."

"I'm sorry… I was just so close, I didn't want to lose the opportunity that I've been waiting so long to get…" Ed avoided looking into Hermione's eyes, he knew what her reaction would be.

"So we just mean that little to you?! We've been by your side this whole time, trying our best to help in any way we can, and you just blow us off! First you won't tell us anything, and then I find out that you were scheming some sort of escape plan this whole time!"

"I had to Hermione! Of course you all mean something to me, but I wasn't going to sacrifice everything I have just to say goodbye to a few people! This has been tearing me apart for months! So yeah, I had a chance and I took it!"

Hermione's expression softened, and a look of realization came across her face. "So that's why you have all those letters you never send? Because there's no way for you to actually send them?"

"How did you know about that?"

Hermione sat on the floor with her back against the wall, beckoning for Ed to follow, so they were side by side in the empty corridor.

"I've spent enough time with you to notice how often you write those at night, plus your trunk is practically exploding with them. They're for your brother, right? You only mentioned him once, but I can tell that you really care about him, the way you always talk about having someone to protect."

"He's all I have left, I promised him I'd get his body back, but it's been practically impossible ever since I got stuck here. I always seem to screw things up one way or another, and now there's no way for me to get back."

"So how were you able to get a way to go back? Is there anything you can do to make it happen again?"

"When I came here, two other people were with me, one of them possessing a Philosopher's Stone. I was able to use that as payment through the portal, but I got stopped before I could go all the way through. I don't have anything to use as equivalent exchange now, so unless they find another way back on the other side, I'm stuck here waiting."

Hermione stood up, a determined look on her face. "Then I'll wait with you! I'll do anything I can to get you back to your brother! I'll get Harry and Ron to help too, whatever you need when the time comes!"

"You really are stupid," Ed laughed as he stood up as well. "I just said there's nothing to do, and yet you still say that you'll help no matter what. I'll never understand you people."

"What, you mean people are different in your world?"

"Let's just say that if I went asking for help all the time I'd probably be burnt to a crisp," Ed smiled as Hermione looked horrified. "Just don't worry about it, I don't want you getting involved in any of this. I can handle it on my own, promise."

* * *

Ling was ecstatic that he landed in Central unharmed and _alone._ He had managed to tell the Colonel everything he knew, as well as reuniting with Lan Fan. She had been distraught at not being able to fulfill her only duty, but Ling calmly assured her that nothing was her fault. Everything was going smoothly, or as smooth as things could be with Ed still missing. Sure he still hadn't obtained the secret to immortality, but the very idea that it existed was enough to hold him over.

Heading back from headquarters through an isolated road, Ling froze at the unsetting noises of rustling leaves. "Hello?"

His voice echoed, to no response. "Show yourself!" he demanded. It could have simply been the wind, but years of battle training told Ling otherwise.

"Did you really think that I was done with you yet?" the dreaded voice of Envy rang out. Disguised as a simple civilian, he walked from the shadows and flashed a toothy grin. "I heard that you were searching for immortality, and I might just have the answer to that. As you know, our little adventure in that silly magic world is _far_ from over, and we have a _very_ special job for you."

"I'll do it," Ling said almost instantly. If there was a way for him to reach immortality, he wouldn't hesitate at the opportunity to take it.

" _Good,_ then we'll get right to it." Envy pulled a small container of red liquid out of his pocket, and also extracted a small knife. "Let's see if you have what it takes to contain the ultimate power of _Greed."_ Envy swung the knife at Ling's hand, creating a small cut over the surface, and poured the red substance into the wound.

The pain was unimaginable, like being ripped apart from the inside out. Red sparks coated the body of the aspiring Emperor of Xing, and his uncontrollable screams rang out across the area. He accepted the pain, though, because it was his only path to achieve his goal. Ling's bones felt like they were breaking, rejoining, and breaking again, but he held his determination out until the very end.

After what seemed like ages, he lost control of his motions and fell into a vast sea of souls.

In the midst of the souls, a large face appeared, grinning down on the small form of Ling. "Really? You're the one I'm supposed to take? Hand over your body then, and we'll see just how strong you really are," the face laughed.

"I willingly accept you! This is the new Emperor of Xing you're looking at!" Ling yelled back at the voice.

"Wow, you sure are a bold little guy," the voice laughed again. "Come to me, and the world will see the new face of Greed!"

* * *

A/N: I'm really really really sorry about leaving you hanging so long after the last chapter! After a week long vacation with barely any free time and developing a sickness, it's been hard for me to write anything. (Explaining the short chapter) The next few will definitely be longer and more interesting, but for now I need to regain my health and pull together my ideas. Thank you everyone for reviewing, favoriting, and following! :)

(Also: I will be keeping word count updates on my bio for anyone who wants it)

P.S: THE RAIN LINE LITERALLY KILLED ME I CAN'T


	20. Guilt

**Guilt**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

Draco's levels of stress had finally collapsed. His progress on the vanishing cabinet was barely effective, and he still hadn't been able to leave a simple mark on Dumbledore. His task was made even harder by his new command to watch over Edward, and with Dumbledore always out of the castle, there was no possible way for him to achieve his goals. Draco had managed to deliver substantial information to Snape, but how did that effect him? If anything, things were just getting more jumbled, leaving little room to accomplish anything. It was driving him mad, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Draco's mind continued to race with the possibilities of what would be done to him and his family if he failed, and he trembled at the thought. He hadn't been paying attention to where he was walking, but after spotting a nearby bathroom he decided to take coverage inside. He didn't want people seeing him like this, weak was not a quality he would dare show.

It would happen soon, and Draco knew that if he didn't do things exactly right, everything would be over. He tried his best to clear his mind, splashing the cool sink water over his face as he tried to calm his trembling. He could be cruel if he had to, he knew that, but killing was different. He couldn't seem to bring himself to do it, even though the fate of himself and his family were so threatened. Draco broke into a quiet sob, tears trickling down his face as he gripped the sink and stared into the mirror.

Then he heard it. A quiet shuffle of feet coming from behind him. Draco instantly grabbed his wand, turning to face Potter, the last thing he needed.

His hex missed Harry and hit the wall behind him, and he quickly dodged the jinx sent towards him. The sink was destroyed and started spewing water everywhere, quickly coating the floor. Harry slipped on the water, so Draco seized the opportunity.

" _Crucio!"_

"STOP!" a voice rang out as Ed ran between Draco and Harry, having just sprinted in after hearing the commotion. The curse hit him square in the chest, and he fell to the ground between the two wizards.

The pain was unbearable, and Ed screamed as he clutched his right shoulder, which seemed to be even more effected by the pain than the rest of his body.

Harry's face grew with rage, and still shocked over what Malfoy did, he shot out the first spell that came to his mind.

" _SECTUMSEMPRA!"_

Draco's chest immedietly grew damp with his own blood, as if it had just been slashed by an invisible sword. He too fell to the ground, and was clutching at his chest, groaning in pain.

The Cruciatus Curse had finally wore off of Ed, and he began to stand up.

"What did you do to him?!" he yelled at Harry in a hoarse voice. Harry kneeled down to Draco's side, sputtering nonsense about how he didn't mean it, as Ed frantically tried to figure out what to do. He ripped off his sweater and used it to apply pressure to Draco's wounds, but it still wouldn't stop bleeding.

"HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE!" he yelled out. He knew all too well how it felt to be helpless and severely injured, and if Draco didn't get proper treatment soon, things could go very bad.

In almost an instant, Snape rushed in and pushed aside Ed and Harry, preforming a round of complex spells across Draco. The blood grew to stop, and the wounds almost closed completely.

"You need to be taken to the hospital wing immediately, if dittany is applied soon enough we may be able to prevent any scarring," Snape said to Draco, then shifting his attention to Harry and Ed. "You two stay here, I'll deal with you in a moment," Snape sneered as he left the bathroom with Draco.

Ed and Harry were left alone together, but neither of them said a word. The crimson blood mixed in with the water on the floor, almost turning it pink, and the two students were covered in it.

"I didn't know what it did… I swear I didn't mean it…" Harry mumbled as he looked at the ground.

"What's done is done. You can blame yourself all you want, but it isn't going to get you anywhere," Ed said as he leaned against the wall. "If I were you, I'd be a lot more worried about how to deal with Snape. That bastard probably deserved what he got, but even I know that what happened was way too far."

Harry gulped and shuffled uncomfortably, clearly not knowing how to deal with the situation. From where he saw it, Ed was still trying to act like everything was under control, but he could see how he was also nervous about the encounter with Snape. There was look in Ed's eyes when Snape spoke to him, like something had happened that Harry was unaware of.

After a couple more uncomfortable minutes in silence, Snape returned with a scowl on his face. He walked by Ed, barely sending a glance, and stopped to stare down at Harry.

"I didn't mean for it to happen... I just read the spell somewhere and it popped into my head out of desperation..." Harry stammered.

"Silence Potter, I can tell you're a liar and pleading isn't going to help your case any. Bring me your all of your school books, now!"

Harry stood still for a second and then nodded hastily, running out of the room. Snape then turned to Ed, still holding the intimidating expression.

"Why is it that right when I'm finished with you, I find you in trouble yet again. You're lucky I knew that Potter was responsible for this, or the punishment you'd be facing would be far more extreme. Don't think that I won't find an excuse to throw you out of here, you're no more use to me and I couldn't care less that you have nowhere else to go." Ed tried to keep a blank expression while confronted, though it was hard to resist his burning urge to punch Snape in the face. "Next time, actually be of some use and try to break up those two foolish boys instead of standing there like a buffoon!"

Panting heavily as if he just ran a marathon, Harry sprinted back into the room clutching his bag, and Snape snatched it from his hands. He shuffled around the books until he pulled out the one titled _Advanced Potion-Making,_ and he quickly flipped to the front cover. Ed knew that Harry's potions book had notes in it that were helping him in the class, he wasn't that oblivious, so he was curious as to how Harry would get out of being caught.

"Roonil Wazlib?" Snapes eyebrows lifted as he looked Harry straight in the eyes.

"That's... my nickname," Harry's heart skipped a beat. Ed tried his hardest to hold back laughter in the background, only letting out a few barely audible snickers.

"You know what I think Potter? I think that you are a liar and cheat that no doubt deserves detention with me every Saturday until the end of term. Any arguing will result in even more punishment, so I'd recommend you close that gaping mouth of yours and head back to your common room. As for you Elric, wipe that grin off your face before I punish you as well, for now you can join in with Potter for the first detention." Snape then left the bathroom without another word, leaving the two boys standing in shock.

"I guess I'll get going then," Ed awkwardly said, leaving almost as quickly as Snape did.

* * *

Hermione tried with all of her might to keep her mouth shut during her soon nightly talks and banters with Harry and Ron. She was extremely overworked between trying to focus on Harry's problems as well as Edward's, and the stress of trying to help both of them was driving her mad. She could handle it though, after all she had used a time turner in her third year for the sole purpose of taking more classes. This particular night, however, had not been easy once she found out that Harry had once again cast a dangerous spell from his graffitied textbook. It was sweet satisfaction to be able to say "I told you so," but now she was more worried than anything. Harry's hiding of the book was an extremely good move, and she could only hope that the book would stay hidden where it was.

With one less thing to worry about, Hermione had been spending all of her free time researching parallel worlds and alternate dimensions for Ed's sake, although she knew that he had already done it several times.

"What're you so obsessed with now Hermione?" Ron sighed as he sat next to her while she frivolously skimmed through a large book. "Every time you get in this mindset I could swear you're possessed because of how fast you flip those pages." Ron put his head in his hands, watching Hermione as she worked. This was another issue that constantly hovered in Hermione's stuffed mind. Ron. The chemistry between the two was obviously more than just platonic, as shown by their attempts at making the other jealous and being completely distraught if the other got a date. Hermione knew her feelings for Ron deep down, but for some reason she sheltered those feelings, refusing to take action. As much as she adored Ron, there were things that needed to be tended to first, and she was sure he understood. "Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos? What the bloody hell are you looking at that for?" Ron asked as he looked at the cover of Hermione's book.

"Just some light reading, not everything I do has to be for a reason Ron, maybe I'm just interested in this stuff," Hermione said without taking her eyes off her book.

"But you hate Divination! Isn't this kind of like that? None of it is actually confirmed true, it's just a bunch of nut cases making up stories!"

Hermione slammed her book closed and looked Ron straight in the eyes. "For your information, I _don't_ think it's insane, and there's nothing proving it _isn't_ real, so I'd rather you not bother me while I'm trying to read these! It's important!"

"What could be so important about it? You're supposed to be helping Harry, not wasting your time reading science fiction!"

"Lives are on the line, that's what! My life doesn't just revolve around helping Harry 24/7, I can help other people too! I'm a person Ron, not just some girl who reads books and stands off to the side! I thought you'd realize that by now!"

Ron's cheeks flushed almost as red as his hair, and he made to stand up, before his eyes widened and he sat down again. "What do you mean 'lives are on the line' and 'I can help other people too?'" Ron mimicked. "This doesn't have anything to do with that Ed guy does it? I know he's weird and hides a lot, but implying that he's from another planet or something seems a bit insulting."

"I don't have to tell you anything Ron, and I'd really appreciate it if you left me alone now," Hermione snapped as she reopened her book and resumed reading.

* * *

Images of Draco covered in blood flooded Harry's dreams, resulting in yet another sleepless night. The dreams weren't an exact recreation of what happened though, they were from a completely different view. In all of them Harry was violently attacking Draco, not even using a wand. It was almost like his dream from the previous year when Mr. Weasley was attacked, except for some reason this nightmare felt much more personal. He woke up shaking and sweating, and groaned as he tossed and turned trying to fall back asleep.

"Another nightmare?" Ed whispered as he shuffled over to sit beside Harry.

"Yeah, it's no big deal though, yours seem way worse," Harry muttered.

"A nightmare is a nightmare, they hurt everyone in their own ways. Even though Draco's fine by now, I can tell the guilt is eating you alive. Not necessarily because of what happened, but because of the possibilities that could have resulted. There are far worse things that could have happened, and in a short amount of time nobody will blame you, you have a good excuse."

"You sure are good at that Ed, you could be a psychiatrist or something," Harry laughed.

"I guess it's just something you pick up on over time," Ed smiled.

The two sat in silence for awhile, but unlike the harsh, tense silence in the bathroom, this silence was shared and calm. The moon's rays cast through the window, creating a hazy glow, and there was a faint sound of wind blowing on the drapes.

"If you don't mind me asking," Harry said quietly, "what was your mother like?"

Ed thought back to his vivid memories in Resembool, and all the short and sweet moments he shared with Al and his mom. "She was great... always knowing exactly what to say to lift our spirits. She didn't ever act like we were little kids, and she always encouraged us to learn whatever we wanted, and praised us for any small achievement we made. I almost wish that she didn't, I got too confident with alchemy and then everything was ruined..."

"She sounds like a wonderful mom, I'm sorry things turned out the way they did." Yet again, mutual silence lingered, slightly more awkward than the last time.

"Hah, look at us, we're both pretty messed up aren't we? The world is cruel, and fate is definitely a bastard." Ed let out an empty chuckle.

"Yeah, I just hope things work out in the end," Harry sighed.

"They will, even if it means we fight with all we've got."

* * *

 _Alphonse,_

 _I know I haven't written in awhile, but things have just been so hectic, and I've just now found the time. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, things just aren't going too well anymore. With Envy and Ling gone, I'm stuck here all alone again, and I don't have any form of payment to get through the portal. It's all Snape and Draco's fault, they're the ones that stopped me from finishing the transmutation. Now someone from the dark side knows my secret, but hopefully it won't turn out terrible since they know nothing about alchemy. I hope that Ling has found you by now, if he has then you should definitely be less worried. It's weird, even after this huge dead end I'm still not completely run down, it's like something inside me knows that I'll still be able to get back. I did make a promise after all, and I'll do all I can to make sure that that promise becomes a reality. As our good friend Colonel Bastard once said, "keep moving, whatever it takes. Even if the way ahead lies through a river of mud."_ _Wow I really hate having to quote that guy._

 _I promise I'll see you soon, just be careful,_

 _Edward_

* * *

A/N: I AM SO SO SORRY FOR NOT POSTING FOR SUCH A LONG TIME! I was in the hospital for a little over a week and then had to stay home as an outpatient, but I'm okay now and I'm finally back in school. This chapter probably would have been longer, but I just felt so guilty about leaving for so long that I had to write and post something. I know it's a bit of a filler, but I think it was about time for some mushy Ed and Harry friendship scenes! Just like Ed said, I promise I'll be back and the next chapter will be up soon! Thanks for reading, reviewing, and rating! (100 follows yay!)


	21. Reconstruction

**Reconstruction**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

* * *

"I assume this means you have successfully created a new Greed?"

"It was a bit too simple in my opinion, I would have preferred it if there was a bit more… pain," Envy grinned widely, stepping into the shadow of an oversized throne.

"Perfect, now all we need is Lust and everything will be ready. I put my faith in you to do this well, make sure this is someone Edward will be emotionally effected by, it is essential that these two new homunculi are personal and difficult for him to fight."

"Oh don't worry," Envy chuckled as he stared up at the overwhelming presence of Father. "I know just the person."

* * *

There was no doubt that news spread quickly around Central Headquarters, especially when a certain blond alchemist was involved, but some things were better left unsaid, at least for the time being. As much as Roy wanted to spill everything he heard from Ling to everyone he possibly could, he first needed to ensure that a safe plan was in operation. Of course, Riza had been alerted almost immediately of the news, being as trustworthy as she was, and the two had been restless trying to think up a way to safely get Ed back.

They had been most careful to not let anything get around to Alphonse, and personally made sure that Ling kept his mouth shut (which was not a simple task.) If Al found out anything about what had happened to his brother, chaos would surely erupt. Not that finding Ed was a bad thing, but he would be far too reckless out of desperation, and losing both brothers would be even more tragic than one.

"Sir, don't you think that this is a bit cruel? We could at least say that he's alive, this has been eating away at him for months now," Riza said over Roy's shoulder as he scribbled away at his notes.

"Exactly, a couple more days aren't going to hurt, we have to make sure this is done right, or Fullmetal could end up stuck there forever."

Suddenly, the door flew open in a familiar manner, slamming into the noticeable dent on the wall. Al stormed in, yet still ducked under the archway, and his voice rang out inside his hollow armor.

"I knew you were hiding something! You knew that brother was alive and you couldn't even bother to tell me?! Do you really think I'm dumb enough to pull something that'd end up getting us killed?"

Roy stammered as Riza stayed calm and collected, but Al continued on speaking.

"You have no idea what it's been like this whole time, going through day after day slowly losing a piece of hope until there's nothing left! I was actually beginning to accept that he was dead… that I'd have to live the rest of my life alone like this…"

"Alphonse, we'll get him back. I'm sorry we haven't told you, there's no excuse for our actions, but I hope you'll be able to work with us now and forgive us," Riza spoke up, using her reassuring tone.

"Thanks Lieutenant, it's glad to know that _somebody_ cares," Al sneered in Roy's direction.

"You know I was only trying to protect you Al," Roy said.

Al sighed, "Just tell me next time Colonel, okay? I'm not sure if it occurred to you that I've had first-hand experience with the gate, which would probably help a lot with what you're doing."

Roy's eyes instantly sparked as he looked up from his heaping mound of paperwork. Of course! How could he have been so stupid?! Alphonse had seen the gate just like Ed had; all Roy knew about it was the fact that an alchemist saw it after preforming human transmutation of some sort. If Ling was right about Ed preforming human transmutation on himself, then Al would know exactly how to do that! Roy had seen the horrific scene from that night, but the giant human transmutation circle was too much to comprehend at the time, even for a skilled alchemist like himself. They had the knowledge, now all they needed was a price, that was where the trouble came in. Although Roy had no ideas at the time, it was a start, and with Al to help he was already feeling more confident.

"Okay, we'll tell you everything we know. Don't worry, we'll find Fullmetal even if it takes a _magnifying glass,_ " Roy smiled.

* * *

Making automail just wasn't the same without him. Every screw, every plating, every small nut and bolt would remind her of him. She had to refrain from throwing her wrenches any time one of her customers badly damaged their arms or legs, 'habits never die' she supposed. Every once in awhile she caught a glimpse of blond hair or red fabric, and her mind instantly jumped to conclusions. She was wrong every time.

Usually she was used to going months without seeing the Elric brothers, but this was different. Somehow, all those other times, she had faith that they would come back, granted a bit banged up, but they would always return with a smile. It was tradition, and that's how it had always been. A sideways wave and vanishing backs, with a golden braid swaying alongside an oversized coat.

Winry had never thought that that image of him would be her last.

After a quiet call from Al, only a month ago, she had never felt more hopeless. She had heard it in his voice, the determination turned to pain and loss, and she had known that this occurance was not like the others. Winry didn't believe it for the longest time though, shrugging it off and thinking that he would come back, because he always did. It wasn't until she completed her latest model of lightweight automail that it hit her.

This time, Edward Elric was dead. He wasn't coming back.

Winry felt guilty as her eyes welled with tears. He had made a promise after all, that the next time he made her cry it would be from tears of joy. No, she would be strong, she had to keep up her end of the promise too. When and if she ever found joy again.

A sharp knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts. Who would come to the shop this late at night? Garfiel was out on a mandatory supplies trip, so Winry was the only one running the store at the time, and she would have known if she set an appointment after hours.

"Hello? Can I help you?" She opened the door and all she could do was freeze, mouth open in shock. The wrench in her hand dropped to the floor, hitting it with a clang, and silence followed.

It was him, it was actually him.

"Long time no see, huh?"

Winry continued to stare, looking into the golden eyes in front of her.

"Ed?"

"Yep, now would you let me in? It's freezing out here!" he grumbled.

"YOU IDIOT!" Winry wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug, and she was finally able to let loose the tears she had been holding in for a month. She hadn't broken the promise after all. "I thought you were dead!" she sobbed into his shoulder, "don't ever pull something like that again!"

"I'm sorry, for that and what I'm about to do now," he grinned, a smile that looked too big for his face. Before Winry could even question what he said, her head snapped back from the force of a punch, and everything turned black.

* * *

"Finally awake are we?"

She knew it was too good to be true.

Winry cracked open her eyes, jaw still sore from being punched, and she realized that she had been strapped to a table by her arms and legs.

"What did you do to Edward?! You're not him!" she yelled at the imposter. How had she been so stupid?!

"Oh he's very much alive, don't you worry. However, there's only one way you'll ever be able to see him again, and probably save him from the situation he's in now."

"What do you mean?" Winry asked. As much as she hated playing along, there was nothing she could do while restrained, and if the imposter was really telling the truth it meant that she would be able to see Ed again.

"Let's just say that for these past few months, the pipsqueak's been trapped in an 'alternate dimension' of sorts, and though I was able to escape, he's still there... probably suffering brutal torture as we speak," the imposter smirked.

"Torture?" Winry squeaked.

"Oh yes, the worst kinds imaginable. I'm actually surprised he's survived this long... these past 8 months or so have been brutal _hell_ for your friend, he actually resorted to just whispering names, I heard yours in there even more than his brother's..."

"How dare you! Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it! Just don't hurt him anymore, he's had enough as it is!"

"You sure seem to care about him a lot... yes... you'll be perfect for the job..."

"What job?" Winry nearly whispered, her voice strained from so much yelling.

"All I'll need to do is inject you with one thing... it may be painful, but as long as you accept whatever comes I assure you that the pipsqueak will return home alive and you'll be able to seem him again. Consider it an... experiment of sorts." The Ed imposter said.

"Fine, I'll do it, but will you at least tell me who you are first?!" Winry demanded.

As if on cue, red sparks shot up as Envy transformed back into his normal self, a bored expression on his face.

"Happy now? Now let's get this over with, hold still, and remember to accept the affects of what I'm about to do, for your _little_ friend's sake."

Still in shock from seeing Envy's revealed form, Winry nodded and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the prick of a needle in her arm. Instantly, it felt like every bone in her body was shattering and reforming, and she twisted and shook with the power of the transformation. It was the worst and most excruciating pain she could imagine, but she held on with all her might. It was her turn to do the saving this time.

After what seemed like hours of horrible pain filled with screaming, Winry felt herself falling into a void of what looked like red distorted faces. In front of her arose the distinguishable face of a beautiful woman, who's features were constantly changing, though still flawless. Her hair changed style and color and her nose, lips, and jawline shifted in every possible beautiful combination. The only thing that didn't change were her eyes, which remained a deep purple.

"So you're the one that I'm supposed to take over? You're cute I suppose, but still quite young to be a gorgeous lady. With the right makeup and outfits I could definitely make you more beautiful, the only question is if you're willing to accept me. What do you say? The power to hold ultimate Lust, drawing in anyone of your desire with your charming looks and devilish personality!"

Winry shivered with disgust at the idea of being turned into an "object." She liked her clothes because they were comfortable, and who did she need to impress anyways? Ed was all she needed, she had known that from the beginning, but that was the whole reason she was in this mess in the first place.

"I accept," she simply said, staring into the purple eyes of the ever changing woman.

That was all it took, and soon Winry could see the room again, with all her pain gone. Something was different though, she could see everything, but she couldn't move her body at all. It was like she was being controlled by a different person...

 _"What did you do to me?"_ she yelled. The voice didn't come out of the body, but Winry knew that whoever was controlling her could hear it.

She saw the body look down, and gasped at the sight of a tattoo right on her chest, in a very suggestive spot to say the least. She noticed that her body looked more mature as well, with more curves and delicate skin.

"How do you feel Lust?" Envy asked.

"Like brand new," she smiled.

* * *

Life around Hogwarts would almost be considered normal, if it wasn't for the immense amount of homework and studying to do. Ed couldn't help but think it was stupid that even though they were supposed to be studying like crazy for their N.E.W.T exams, (really dumb name) the teachers _still_ piled on loads of homework. Who did they think he was?

Exams and homework were the least of Ed's troubles, though. They were halfway through May now, which meant that the date of the prophecy was nearing closer and closer. It really wasn't hard to understand the ultimate meaning of it, but the lack of anything exciting happening in the school made the whole thing very confusing. Having a weight on your head with no idea of what to do was stressful, and all he could do was wait. Luckily, if the whole "two worlds bending as one" thing was true, Ed would be able to return to Amestris. The only problem was the fact that he was supposed to use a "great power that no one else holds," whatever that was. At first he thought it meant his alchemy, but there were tons of other alchemists that could probably do the same things he could. He was drawing a blank, so all he could do was shuffle around and blend in with everyone else, while casually reading the entire library on top of that.

Hermione was trying her best to help too, but with no knowledge of the gate or alchemy it was hard for her to understand the circumstances of Ed's problem.

They had been reading in the common room, like usual, when an interesting thought struck her.

"Hey Ed, have you ever actually tried magic before?"

"What?" he looked up from his book, shocked at Hermione's intense thinking face.

"Well I was just thinking, if you can use power for your alchemy don't you think that you could harness that power to use magic too?"

"I guess I never really thought about it... none of that magic crap ever appealed to me so I just kinda stuck to alchemy. Do you think I would actually be able to use it?" Ed wondered.

"It wouldn't hurt to try," Hermione shrugged. "Here, you can borrow my wand. Just say _Lumos_ and see what happens."

Edward took her wand in his left hand and held it in front of him, observing it as he felt it warm his hand. " _Lumos."_

The tip of the wand glowed and then fizzled out, causing Ed to look up in shock.

"I did it! Well I did something..."

"Try again, but this time really try to feel what you're doing. Do whatever you do when you do alchemy, maybe even clap your hands or something if that helps."

Not thinking that he could look any more stupid at this point, Ed focused on concentrating the gases and particles of light in the air, and clapped his right hand to the one holding the wand. " _Lumos."_

At once, blue sparks shot out from around his hands, and the tip of the wand glowed so brightly that it filled the room with a blinding white light, making it look like the gate. Just as fast as that had happened, all the light disappeared and the room was suddenly pitch black. Hermione relit the lights on the walls and stared at the shocked face of Ed. He had just combined alchemy and magic, creating an effect that was double what one could do alone.

"I think we figured out what that power is," Ed laughed as he stared at Hermione's wand. It had cracked slightly at the tip from the power, but she could care less.

"Do you know what this means?! We have to start training immediately! I can get Harry to teach you all of the defensive spells, and if you mix that with alchemy I bet you could do some ridiculous attacks! Wow... a power like that could probably even stand up to Voldemort himself... maybe that's what the prophecy meant. Do you think it mixes with Harry's? Maybe you two will have to work together to defeat him or something, you wearing him down and Harry delivering the final blow. As dangerous as it sounds, it might actually work. I mean, a wizard plus a wizard/alchemist against just one guy? It might just work..." Hermione said in almost one breath.

"Woah woah woah slow down there! Don't you think we should figure out how to control this first? As awesome and badass as it sounds to go barging in and blow up the place, I should probably figure out how to result the casualties to just the one. Don't worry, I'll start reading up on all the spells I need now so I know the theories when it's time to learn them."

Hermione nodded. "You're right, but this would be a lot easier if Harry was actually around more. He's been at Dumbledore's office almost every night now, and when he's not doing that he seems to be off in his own little world."

"What's he doing in there anyways? He never talks about it, and I almost guarantee they're not just sitting around talking about the latest wizard hat styles. I still don't really trust the old bastard..." Ed grumbled.

"He's trustworthy Ed, and whatever they're doing it probably has to do with defeating Voldemort. With what you've just learned about yourself maybe you should talk to him, he could probably help you."

"Eh, I'll do that later. Right now, I have about six years worth of magic to catch up on," Ed groaned. With that, he grabbed the nearest spellbook and immersed himself into it, preparing for what was to come.

* * *

A/N: HELLO! I am back from that semi-hiatus, and I intend to stay! (I'm really sorry about being gone that long, it won't happen again now that school is practically over) I found it really interesting to write Lust!Winry, and I'm really excited for what's to come in this story! I hope whoever has been here since the beginning is still around, and if you are, thank you very much! Also, thank you to everyone new that stopped by to read, favorite, follow, and review! All of you mean so much to me and I'm so grateful that you're taking the time to read this. I don't know about you, but I can't wait for the next chapter! Yay! ;)

why does every chapter I write end up having some sort of angst in it... yikes


	22. Deconstruction

**Deconstruction**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

* * *

Two days had passed, and Edward Elric had already read every textbook for the first 4 years of Hogwarts schooling. Papers were messily sprawled all over the library tables, irritating Madam Pince to no end. Ed's focus hadn't drifted at all in those days, as he was determined to master magic as quickly as he could. This was his only chance at a return home, and on top of that, the magic and alchemy combination would be powerful enough to destroy "a great evil."

So far, he had managed to fit in practicing the spells as well, creating a significant amount of damage to various parts of the school. Every once in awhile Filch would stumble across a gaping hole in the wall, or scorch marks covering an entire hallway. Ed could have easily fixed these with alchemy, but he loved annoying the caretaker to no end.

Overall, Ed's progress had substantially improved, and he was finally able to somewhat control the combination of fourth year spells with alchemic power. "You did it!" Hermione gasped as Ed's face spread into a grin. He had managed to cast _"accio"_ without blowing the wall up in the process, followed by a successful banishing charm.

"I think you're finally ready to have Harry start teaching you some battle spells, but you're definitely going to need a lot of room, and you can't be seen either. Luckily, I know just the place," Hermione smiled.

The next day, Ed stood in the exact place he was instructed to, confused and just plain out irritated. Not only was Harry late, but the directions he was given led to NOWHERE. It was just an ordinary corridor, nothing special about it. Ed paced angrily up and down the corridor, considering just leaving, when suddenly a large door appeared out of nowhere.

 _'_ _Well that's new…'_

Without any haste, he pushed open the giant door (with a bit of difficulty) and found himself standing in an extremely large clearing. Ed's eyes instantly opened at the sight he was greeted with. This wasn't just any clearing, it was _his_ clearing. The exact spot on the hill in Resembool that he and Al sparred at. He could swear he could see the Rockbell's house in the distance, and the separate path that led to the graveyard. Ed knew this was a magic school, but it was hard to believe how a room could just appear out of _nowhere_ and create the illusion of being back home.

Ed carefully sat down in the grassy space, staring off trying his best to make it feel like he was actually there. It was an easy task to accomplish. Even the sky was the same, creating the sunset and stars that he had missed so much since coming to Hogwarts. It felt so peaceful, and he had almost forgotten just how much this place meant to him.

"Enjoying the view?" a voice asked behind him. Ed turned to see Harry walking towards him, and scowled at being interrupted from his only connection to Amestris.

"This must be where you grew up, right?" Ed nodded. "Well, it's definitely a good place to practice all your long range spells, with there being no walls to blow up," Harry snickered. He conjured up a few dummies and brick walls to practice on, just like he had done the previous year.

"Mind telling me how exactly this is possible?" Ed crossed his arms after he stood up.

"It's the Room of Requirement, it only appears when someone's in need of it. Apparently for you, just being here was what you needed, and luckily it's also what I needed too."

"It certainly didn't hurt," Ed sighed, looking back at where his old house would have stood. "So are we going to get started or what? We can't just sit around here all day."

With that, Harry began going over all the defensive spells he knew with Ed, starting off with easy ones and gradually getting more difficult. At first Ed started with only the magic, and once he was able to master the spells, he combined them with alchemy. His first try at _stupefy_ had nearly blown up the practice dummy, and _reducto_ had left a large crater in the hill they were on. _Expelliarmus_ had done its job of disarming the opponent, but in a literal sense.

Harry facepalmed as Ed wiped the ash off of himself, wincing as he looked around at the destruction he made. "We'll try again tomorrow, but I AM getting better at not breaking stuff, I'll have it down in a couple days," he gave a confident smirk as he walked out of the room, giving a goodbye wave to Harry behind him.

"Let's just hope I'm still alive by then…" Harry sighed.

* * *

Envy sauntered back into Father's lair accompanied by Lust, looking amused at his accomplishment. He had given her the same dress and gloves that the old Lust had worn, and now she was actually looking the part. She flashed a sensual smile and flipped her hair behind her shoulder, strutting in after Envy.

"So I take it this is our new Lust?"

"Yep, it was almost _too_ easy to get the girl to agree with me, it was almost like she was desperate."

"Whatever means you went to were definitely necessary, but now we have no time to waste. Before those military dogs figure out too much, we have to get to the other side," Father said in his monotone voice, though looking eager to begin. "Are you absolutely sure this is the circle Edward used?" he motioned to the large transmuation circle he had drawn prior to Envy's arrival.

"Positive, that pipsqueak took so much time drawing it it would be hard NOT to know what it looks like."

"Then let us begin, we won't have enough time to convince Greed of our plans, but he will certainly be of use another time. Both of you, make sure the goal remains clear. Capture the one with the largest amount of power, and obtain information on their magic in any way you can. I will capture the energy, and it might even be enough to overcome the power of even a country wide Philosopher's stone. Just imagine what energy a magical soul would hold! If we were able to take over and sacrifice them all, the power would match up to one of God, I'm sure of it!" Father laughed.

Without even moving, the transmutation circle was activated by Father, lighting the room an eerie red glow. The three homunculi stepped into the circle and let its power guide them through the gate, to the world of witchcraft and wizardry.

* * *

The week was finally at its end, and Ed had managed to read all the way through seventh year magic. He was confident with his abilities at charms and simple spells that he worked on with Hermione, but his battle tactics were barely any less destructive. Harry had only shown up to one more lesson, claiming to have had more important things the other nights. Ed didn't think he really knew the context of the situation, but none of his prying seemed to help. The current night, Ed had spotted him drinking what he recognized as Felix Felicis, which wasn't a good sign. Whatever Harry was up to, it was dangerous, and Ed wanted answers.

Using the technique he learned in the military, Edward carefully trailed Harry, making sure not to be seen. He never went to pick a fight with anyone though, and from Ed's standpoint it all seemed rather boring. All Harry did was talk with Slughorn, go to a giant spider's funeral (which really freaked him out), and went into Hagrid's hut. Why in the world would he have needed a luck potion just to hang around a couple of teachers?

Defeated at his spying techniques, Ed started to make his way back to the castle. As he snuck back inside, however, something caught his eye. Harry had dashed right by him, causing Ed to quickly jump behind a nearby pillar. _'Finally! Some action!'_

Ed sprinted behind him, still trying to remain quiet, and found that he had just entered Dumbledore's office rather hastily. Ed put his ear up to the door and listened in, desperate for some sort of answers. If this was something important, it surely could help with what he was trying to accomplish himself.

Surprisingly, minutes of silence followed, and Ed was getting extremely bored. _'What are they doing in there, napping?'_ He almost started dozing off himself, when a certain line of conversation snapped him back to focus.

"At the same age as you are now, give or take a few months, Tom Riddle was doing all he could to find out how to make himself immortal."

Ed's eyes grew in shock, it sounded exactly like what people in Amestris were doing. Could that mean that this had something to do with a Philosopher's stone? He knew that Tom Riddle was Voldemort, he had overhead it himself, so could the man have actually succeeded in becoming immortal?

He continued to listen at the door, becoming more and more interested and disturbed as time passed. Splitting a soul? That was one of the most inhuman things he could think of, and if it was in fact true, things could be far worse than he imagined. Souls were something that were supposed to remain intact, even the act of bonding Alphonse to the armor did that. If one were to be split into multiple pieces, it would almost guarantee immortality. That is, unless all the pieces could be destroyed somehow...

As Ed continued to pace and think about the concept of horcruxes, he hadn't even noticed that the talking in the room had stopped.

"You are welcome to join us Edward, with everything you've heard you might as well," Dumbledore's voice rang out from behind the door.

Ed stopped in his tracks and froze. ' _Damn it! How the hell does he seem to know everything I'm doing?!'_ He scowled and swung open the door, not surprised to see that Harry looked slightly angry at the fact that he was listening in.

"Now that my theories have been proven correct, I do believe that you could be some help to us as well," Dumbledore calmly spoke in Ed's direction. "I'm afraid that an elderly man and a teenager may not be enough for what we have to do. If I'm not wrong, you're heavily trained in combat, is that right?"

Ed nodded, still not sure where this conversation was going.

"If you're up to the task, I would like you to accompany Harry and I to fetch one of Voldemort's horcruxes. It will be extremely dangerous, but I'm confident we'll be able to get it done."

"I'm sorry Headmaster, but what exactly does Ed have to do with any of this? He just stumbled into the school _this year_ and you're already trusting him with information it's taken you _six_ years to tell me. Nothing against him, but it doesn't really make sense at all," Harry snapped.

"Of course Harry, from your standpoint I completely understand what you mean. However, there are quite a few things about Edward that you don't know. I'm sure he'll tell you when he's ready. He knows more than enough about topics like this, and we could use someone like that on our side."

Ed sighed, "Fine, I'll do it. For the first time in my life, I'll actually admit that the geezer is right."

Harry still looked a bit displeased at Ed's intrusion, but he agreed to the task nonetheless. "So where exactly will we be going?"

"It is not far from here, but we will still need to apparate."

Ed gulped and cursed under his breath. From his prior experience with apparition, it was easy to say that he was still strongly opposed to it.

"Don't worry Edward, I'll be the one doing the apparating, I promise that no splinching will occur. Now if you will both take my arm, please."

Harry grabbed Dumbledore's arm right away, and Ed hesitantly reached out. Right as his hand made contact, the three began spinning at an indescribable speed. Ed felt like he was being squeezed through an extremely tight tube, and the sensation reminded him exactly as how it felt in the Gate of Truth, when he was getting endless amounts of information poured into him. As soon as they began, however, they had stopped.

The three stood on the top of a large cliff, surrounded by chilling moist air and thundering waves. Ed's ports immediately began to ache from the cool moisture in the air, but he didn't let it show.

"The horcrux should be right in that cave over there, I'm afraid this was the closest place we could apparate to. I'm dreadfully sorry to say this, but we will have to swim the rest of the way there."

Ed's face quickly paled. _'Great, just great. We just arrived and already I'm useless!'_

 _"_ Is there a problem Edward?" Dumbledore asked.

"I can't swim...at least, not with automail. I'd sink straight to the bottom," Ed muttered, not making eye contact.

"A simple buoyancy charm should solve the issue, no need to worry," the headmaster reassured. He tapped his wand to Ed's arm and leg, and as they got into the water, the two limbs worked like floatation devices. With Dumbledore's perfect breaststroke and Harry's awkward yet quick swimming, Ed instantly felt completely embarrassed as he struggled along behind the two, trying to stay balanced above the water. It didn't help that it was icy cold, and his heavy clothes weighed him down.

Even though the cave wasn't far from the rock, it felt like an eternity swimming there. Dumbledore kindly dried the two off with magic, and the buoyancy charm wore off. They walked silently through the mouth of the cave, avoiding any cracks in the ground or unfamiliar bugs. Within a few minutes, they approached a solid wall blocking off the entirety of the cave.

"Do you want me to break a hole in it?" Ed asked, positioning his hands for clapping.

"There will be no need," Dumbledore said. "I rather think, that we are required to make payment to pass."

"How much?!" Ed asked quickly, hoping it wasn't comparable to the gate. Harry looked lost, not knowing exactly what this "payment" referred to.

"Nothing substantial," Dumbledore answered as he pulled a short knife out of his robe. "Just a bit of blood should do."

" _Blood?"_ Harry yelped. Ed let out a sigh of relief while Harry looked disturbed, and snatched the knife from Dumbledore before he could do anything.

"Allow me." Ed quickly sliced the palm of his hand and set it on the wall. It shuddered and opened up to create a vast hole.

"I appreciate that Edward, but there was no need for you to injure yourself. I'm old and my blood is far less valuable."

"I wasn't about to let some old guy cut himself enough to bleed, we all know blood doesn't clot as well at that age." Ed threw the knife back in his direction and continued on forward, leaving both Harry and Dumbledore speechless. The next portion of the cave was huge, and looked like an endless black lake. A green glow came from the far end of it, but other than that the space was pitch black.

"Will we have to swim again?" Harry asked as he looked into the lake, not seeing under the murky surface.

"No, and please don't touch the water or go near it," Dumbledore warned as he examined the perimeter of the lake. "Aha, I knew it would be somewhere." He lifted his hand over the water's surface and a moldy chain shot out of it, revealing a small boat that was connected to it."

"Something tells me we won't all be able to fit in that boat..." Ed pointed out.

"This is quite the situation indeed. If I went I'm afraid that nobody else could accompany me, because I am a fully aged and powerful wizard. You two, however, are underage and not registered, so I don't think the charm would pick you up."

"Then Harry and I will go, grab the horcrux, and come back. You can just watch us from over here for danger," Edward said.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea, but it seems to be the only option we have. I will put a charm on the both of you so we can communicate from a far distance, please do not try anything that would get one of you hurt. If anything were to happen, both of you must follow any command I give, whether it is to immediately return or to leave me behind, do you understand?"

Both teens nodded at Dumbledore and allowed him to place the spell on them. They climbed into the boat, and luckily it wasn't too tight of a fit because of Ed's small size. They kept completely quiet as they passed over the lake. There was an unsettling feel about it that made Edward uneasy, and he could tell Harry was uncomfortable too. The boat bumped into a wall and the two climbed out, staring at the crystal-like island they were on. A single stone basin stood in the middle of it, and upon further inspection it appeared to be full of an emerald liquid.

"Professor, can you hear me?" Harry said into thin air.

"Yes Harry, I can hear you. What is it that you see?" Dumbledore's voice rang throughout his head, and Ed's as well.

"It's just a basin full of some weird greenish liquid. Do you think the horcrux is inside?"

"I am quite sure Harry, but if this is what I think it is than that is very worrying."

"What do you mean by that?" Ed interrupted.

"Before I confirm my suspicions, can either of you touch the liquid?"

Harry reached his hand out to the basin, but it came to a halt right before he could reach the liquid, as if there was an invisible barrier.

"No sir, what does that mean?" Harry asked, concerned.

"I think it may be best for you both to come back. In that basin is an extremely powerful potion, creating dreadful effects upon the drinker. The only way the horcrux can be obtained is if the entire potion is drunk. It will not kill, but it may make the drinker feel unbearable pain, forget why they're here, or delve into the darkest parts of their mind. This is not something I want either of you to go through, you're both far too young."

Harry glanced at Ed and sighed, "Okay sir, we'll come ba-"

"No." Edward said, staring into the basin. "We didn't come all this way for nothing, I'll drink it." Before either of the two wizards could object, he grabbed the crystal goblet laying beside the basin, filled it with the potion, and tilted it to his mouth.

"Harry! There's nothing you can do to stop him now, make sure he keeps drinking, no matter what he says or does! Do you understand me?!" Dumbledore yelled, losing his cool demeanor.

On Ed's second cup, he collapsed to the ground and started shivering, but was still quiet.

 _Painpainpainpainpain so much pain_

He grit his teeth together, as a steady pain began coursing through his body, becoming more unbearable by the second. At first it was like a punch to the stomach, and then it evolved. Harry, face lined with sweat and worry, helped him drink another glass, and pain shot through him like a gunshot.

 _Pulling, yanking, the severing of two limbs. They were gone, nonexistent, and he could feel the blood pouring from two empty holes in his body. How was he still alive?_

It was at this point the pain became unbearable, equaling automail surgery plus the initial loss of his limbs, with an added stab in the gut for good measure. Harry was back with a fourth cup and Ed, uncontrollably shaking, choked it down.

 _The cave was gone, instead he was in a basement. A dead mother on the ground, turning into the lifeless form of his own brother. The shriveled form he saw in the gate, covered in blood. The dead body spoke, first a whisper, then a yell. "YOU COULDN'T SAVE US! YOU'RE WORTHLESS! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE!" behind him walked Hughes, a bullet wound in his chest, dripping blood down his body._

 _"It's because of you that my family has to suffer. A child has to grow up with no father because of you, and a widowed wife cries herself to sleep every night."_

 _Then, a last figure emerged, the most distorted of them all. First appearing as a little girl, Nina happily skipped up to Edward, only to stop in fear. Blood dripped down her face and her body contorted into the horrible chimera she was turned into. "Big brother... you were supposed to protect me... look at what you did..."_

Ed couldn't stand it anymore. His screams echoed throughout the cave as he was forced to relive all the worst memories in his life, accompanied by horrific pain.

"Ed! Stay with me! Please! You have to finish, you have to drink this, and then it'll all be over, I promise!" Harry was panicking by now, not knowing how to deal with the form of Ed convulsing on the ground screaming his lungs out. He poured the liquid into Ed's mouth, amber eyes lifelessly staring at a point beyond him.

 _"Do you really think we wanted you here? Did you really believe that any of us cared about you?" Mustang smirked as he walked towards Ed, hand positioned for a snap. "I only wanted you so I could rise up the ranks, you're like my own personal pawn," he smiled, raising his gloved hand. Then he snapped. Ed was burning, fire consumed him, and he felt it too. His body felt like the skin was sizzling off, and the shrieking cries of Alphonse managed to make his way to his ears. "YOU DESERVE THIS BROTHER! LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID TO ME! YOU'RE JUST A BURDEN THAT NOBODY NEEDS!"_

Harry had gotten the second to last cup down Ed's throat, and was now shaking uncontrollably himself. He couldn't stand to see his friend like this, and hoped that whatever horrible things he was going through would be stopped soon.

"JUST KILL ME! PLEASE!" Ed gasped after gulping down the contents of the goblet. "NO MORE, I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Tears were running down his cheeks, something Harry had never witnessed before.

"Whatever you want Ed, just please drink the last cup and it'll all be over! It'll end, you'll be okay! Please..."

 _Winry was dead, Riza was dead, Roy was dead, Izumi was dead, Al was dead, and everyone he ever cared about. Gone, and it was his fault. Blood covered the ground, his ears were ringing, he could barely breathe, the pain was overwhelming, and he didn't even know where he was anymore, who he was anymore..._

The final cup had finally been drained, and everything stopped. Ed was limp on the ground, now able to see what was actually happening. He saw Harry in a panic like state sitting over him, looking like he was ready to burst into tears.

"It's okay... I'm okay..." Ed gasped as he came back to reality. ' _The potion... right...'_

Harry nodded and ran to the basin, grabbing the locket out of it.

"We got it, we actually got it! You did it Ed, we can go back now..."

Ed suddenly became very aware of the unbearable thirst overtaking him. It was hard to keep his thoughts focused at the moment, but for some reason his body was begging for water.

"Harry. Water. Please."

"Okay, whatever you want." Harry went and tried to create water with a spell, but nothing happened. He quickly grabbed the goblet used for the potion and went towards the lake, dipping it in.

"Harry don't!" Dumbledore's voice rang in his head.

Immediately a bony hand reached out of the water and grabbed his wrist, pulling him in. There were numerous dead bodies around him, or at least that's what they looked like. They pulled him deeper and deeper into the water as he tried to escape, but their grips were too tight. He kept being dragged further and further, until a massive portion of the lake's floor pushed him up, while the rest of it turned into spikes that pinned down the creatures.

"I won't let anyone else die, that's a promise," Ed grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him up onto the island, while the creatures started to surround them.

Ed was still extremely pale from the effects of the potion, but Harry was amazed at how alert he looked. The connection between them and Dumbledore had been cut off, but they could see flames in the distance attacking the creatures.

"Wait, I remember these from defense against the dark arts! They're called Inferi, and you can get rid of them with fire!"

"I guess it's time to try the Colonel's technique then," Ed pushed the torturous thoughts in his mind away and focused on the current situation. Keeping them alive. He focused on the elements in the air, shifted the oxygen, and created a spark by snapping, just like Mustang. It wasn't direct or controlled, but it did the job, and flames shot out all around the two teens, engulfing all of the Inferi and drawing them back into the lake. Ed nearly collapsed from using so much alchemic energy, but Harry was able to wrap his arm around him and get the two into the small boat.

Horcrux in hand, Harry couldn't help but still feel like the entire journey was a waste. Ed's eyes seemed distant and glazed over, and Dumbledore seemed almost ready to collapse from his use of energy too. Was it all worth the pain?

"I'm so glad you two are safe," Dumbledore said, relieved. "I'm deeply sorry that I wasn't able to help, but luckily you both managed to get out okay. Don't worry Harry," he now whispered, "Ed will be fine once the potion fully wears off. He's strong, I know he is."

The three worn down wizards staggered back to their apparition point and headed back to Hogwarts, where soon the real battle would begin.

* * *

A/N: Wow... I'm really sorry for what I did to Ed... But don't worry! He'll be all okay, just like Dumbledore said, he's strong! We're finally getting into the last stretch and climax of the story, I don't really know how many chapters will be left, but I think it'll be around 3-4? Thanks everyone for staying around this long, please review if you can, it really helps me out! Thank you also for all the favorites and follows, and everyone who reviewed last time. (I know Dumbledore may seem OOC but honestly I couldn't think of any other way to make it so only Ed and Harry were with the potion)

P.S. I'm so pumped because this weekend I'm going to meet Tom Felton (Draco), Vic Mignogna (Ed), and Todd Haberkorn (Ling)! I honestly can't contain the fangirl in me, so I tried to get out this extra long chapter before I left! :D


	23. Understanding

**Understanding**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

* * *

Despite his ever-growing desire to rule the world, Greed was bored. There was no other way to put it. Without a good lead on anything, he had resorted to exploring Central to try to find a group of followers, but nobody even seemed to care.

"Well this sucks," he sighed.

 _"Tell me about it! You always go on about conquering the world but I've seen nothing so far. Since your_ brilliant _plan didn't work, will you let me take over now so I can become emperor of Xing and actually accomplish something?"_ Ling complained from within Greed.

"Not quite yet stubborn Prince, I have a good feeling about tonight."

 _"Whatever you say..."_ Ling sighed.

As if Greed's pointless wishes had just been granted, he spotted Colonel Mustang running right towards him with a determined look on his face.

"Ling! I finally found you! I've been working with others at Headquarters and I think I might have an idea on how to get Ed back here, I just need a few more details from you first," he panted.

"Sorry military guy, but I'm not Ling, I'm Greed."

"Huh?"

 _"Greed! He's the one that I informed about the parallel world! If he actually knows a way to get back this could be our chance to get more power and actually move forward with whatever you're trying to do!"_ Ling wasn't about to admit that he genuinely cared about Ed's wellbeing too, he knew that all Greed cared about was his avarice.

Greed decided to listen to Ling for once. If there really was a way to explore a _completely new world,_ he wasn't about to deny it. "I'm a homunculus, the Prince is still here, and apparently you have some interesting info? Let's hear it then, we'd _love_ to help."

"How do I know I can trust you? The other homunculi I've met have been ruthless and evil, what makes you different?" Mustang asked while raising an eyebrow.

Greed rolled his eyes. "I guess you'll _never_ know that for sure, but isn't my willingness to help you enough? If it makes you feel better Ling agrees with me, and besides, I never lie."

Mustang smirked. "Well, if you really are willing to help, it's fine by me. In fact, we wouldn't be able to get there without you anyways."

"What do you mean by that?"

"If we were to replicate the transmutation, we'd still need to pay a toll to get across the gate. Since both times Ed managed to successfully use a homunculus, couldn't we just use you?"

"First of all," Greed sneered, "you won't be _using_ me for anything. If you need my help, _I'll_ be the one running this operation." Ling groaned from within him.

"Whatever works for you," the Colonel said, brushing off his negative thoughts about the homunculus. Ed needed him, and he was willing to take desperate measures to help him, even if it meant working with a potential enemy. "We'll need to start as soon as possible, I already had Alphonse start drawing the transmutation circle as soon as possible, so it should be ready soon. If you would just follow me..."

The two then hurried to Central headquarters, with Greed attempting to take the lead as Mustang grit his teeth from behind.

"Colonel Mustang! You're already back? I nearly finished the circle, just a few more checks to make sure it's perfect!" Al called cheerily as he saw the two entered his office.

"Good job Al, it seems like we'll be able to start sooner than intended to get the little runt back. Greed has agreed to let us work with him," Roy gave Al a look that suggested he not ask, "and as a homunculus," Al gasped, "he'll be able to work as the payment to get across the gate."

"Ling?" Al asked tilting his head.

"Nope, I'm _Greed,_ why can't any of you get that through your heads?!"

"Sorry," Al squeaked. "Does that mean you remember me from Dublith?"

"I'm afraid not kid, that Greed is gone, I guess you could say I'm a new model," Greed smiled.

"Sorry to break up this... reunion, but we need to start soon," Roy interrupted.

"I'll be going too sir," Lieutenant Hawkeye said, going by Mustang's side. "You'll need someone to watch your back."

"I won't deny that, but nobody else is to come along. Only us four, and that's _final."_ They all nodded, and Al stood up from the circle, satisfied from his work. "Your orders are to find Fullmetal and report directly back, no hanging around. We will try to stay together, but if we happen to get separated meet back at where we appear from."

After the "yes sirs" from Riza and Al, Roy was satisfied. He knew the homunculus would be harder to command. "Good, then let's get in the circle and begin. It would be a good idea to make a new circle when we get there Alphonse, just in case we need to make a quick return. We know nothing about this place so it's best to be prepared." Al nodded, and with that he set his hands on the circle, letting the transmutation begin. Greed made sure to use his philosopher's stone as payment, and soon the four were thrown into a world of chaos.

* * *

Harry, Ed, and Dumbledore stumbled into Hogsmeade after apparating from the cave, with Ed still shivering and pale from the potion. Harry and Dumbledore could still see that he was very shaken up from all the pain he had to endure, both mentally and physically.

"It's okay, we're back now and we got the horcrux!" Harry whispered. Ed showed a small smile and then sank to the ground, quickly grabbed by both Harry and Dumbledore.

"It's going to be okay Ed, you're going to be alright, don't worry," Harry tried to reassure.

"Harry, we need to return to the castle as soon as possible, I'm afraid that something bad may be going on, and Edward needs to get help as well."

"I'm okay...really," said Ed, struggling to his feet. He almost fell again and leaned against Harry for support, while the two wizards held him steady between them.

" _Accio brooms_ ," Dumbledore said, waving his wand. At once three brooms flew towards them, crashing through the window of a local Quidditch shop. "Ah, I knew there'd be brooms around here somewhere."

"Will you be okay to fly Ed?" Harry asked.

"Of course, it's not too hard to sit down on a stick," Ed whispered, "...don't quote me on that," he added. The three then got on their brooms (Ed having help getting on from Harry and Dumbledore) and were soon off towards the castle.

* * *

"How on Earth could you fail?! You said you had this under control, I should never have given you enough faith to think you'd get it done! Lucky for you I'm here to do your dirty work for you," Snape growled at Draco. After countless attempts at trying to get the vanishing cabinet to work, it had only succeeded in sending things away. When Draco tried to summon the animals or objects back, they were always misshapen or deformed. At the last moment he concluded that it was the paired cabinet that was broken, not the one he had. It had been too late to go fix the other, so now there was no way to get Death Eaters into the castle. "We can't wait any longer, I'll have to do it tonight."

Snape then proceeded to march through the castle, searching for Dumbledore, and not letting anything stand in his way. That is, until he crashed into someone and stumbled back, catching himself on the ground.

"Watch where you're going won't you, I have places to be and things to do," a voice said. Snape looked up and saw not just one unfamiliar face, but three. Someone with long spindly hair, a pretty blonde girl, and a tall bearded man. Snape wasn't afraid of much, but even he could admit that just the aura that these beings were emitting was powerful and dangerous.

The most intimidating man stepped forward and asked in a calm yet thundering voice, "Where can we find Edward Elric?"

Snape paled and thought back to what the boy said under the Veritaserum. It couldn't have been true, could it? Were these people from his world? It would certainly explain their strange auras and looks. Snape straightened up and made his face as cold and intimidating as he could. "Why would you need to know?"

The one with the long hair spoke again, with a gravelly and rude voice. "We aren't here to play questions and answers, tell us where he is or you'll be dead before you know what happened."

"I'm afraid I do not know where he is, but none of you are authorized to be in this castle." Snape quickly drew out his wand and tried to preform a full-body bind on them, but it didn't have any effect at all.

"Ah! We were looking for that as well. I'll just be taking that," the man grabbed his wand and then red sparks surrounded him. Immediately, Snape fell to the ground, covered in stone bindings, and the three strange people stepped over him and carried on their way.

* * *

Not soon after the homunculi appeared at Hogwarts, Mustang's group appeared there as well. Falling much like Ed had, they landed in a large heap just outside of the forbidden forest. "Are you all okay?" Roy asked, looking over everyone. Riza and Greed seemed to be fine, but then his eyes landed on the other person with them. Al's armor was nowhere to be seen, and in his place there was a thin and frail body with long blond hair. Roy's eyes widened as he realized that the only person it could be was Alphonse.

"A-Alphonse? Is that you?" Riza asked before Roy had the chance to. The boy struggled to sit up, and looked over everyone.

"W-wha.." he looked up and then stared at his hands with eyes as wide as saucers, looking between Roy and Riza. His face split into a huge grin and tears formed in his eyes, "I'm actually here! It's me!.. I just wish brother was here too, we were supposed to do this together..." his face fell. "And how am I supposed to do anything now that I'm this weak?"

"Don't worry about that Al, we'll find him soon, but we should get you inside and maybe someone will be willing to help you out," Roy took off his jacket and wrapped it around the shivering boy, who soon realized he was completely naked and blushed violently.

"You did it Alphonse... you actually did it!" Riza smiled as Al's face lit up again. The three smiled and Greed continued to watch from the side, while Ling was beaming inside him as well.

"How exactly _did_ you do it?" Roy asked, still amazed at the fact that Al was really _here_ in person. He looked a lot like Ed, just with softer features and slightly lighter hair.

"I remember being back at the gate, like I was when I lost my body. I saw my body there, and he- _I_ asked for my soul to reconnect to the body. I must have accepted, because I'm here now. I guess the payment of Greed's philosopher's stone was enough to get me through the rest of the gate and end up here."

"We're glad you're back Al," Riza grinned, and she put a hand on Al's shoulder.

"Woah! I'm just now starting to notice all these senses, your hand is so warm! But the grass is itchy and it's chilly outside... this is so weird..." Al marveled at all of the feels and smells around him, until Greed finally started to lose his patience.

"So are we going to go inside now or what?"

"Oh, yeah I guess that'd help," Al blushed, embarrassed by his long moment of taking in his surroundings.

The four stood up while Roy and Riza supported Al's thin body, and they trekked up the hill to the castle.

* * *

After a shaky flight through the air, Ed, Dumbledore, and Harry were able to land just near the castle and not far from Hagrid's hut. Ed stumbled off his broom on the way down but luckily Harry and Dumbledore were there in time to catch him and hold him steady.

"Ugh... I don't remember flying being so nauseating..." Ed groaned, a bit paler than when he was when he started the flight. Ed observed his surroundings at where they landed, and just as Harry and Dumbledore started walking, he cried out for them to stop, both dropping him out of shock at his loud yell. He didn't care, he could have sworn he saw specks like people back at the forest, and the weirdest part was he thought he recognized a blue military jacket...

 _'No... there's no way they could be here... it's impossible'_ As the shapes got closer though, he could definitely recognize two Amestrian military uniforms. Ed stumbled forward the best he could, with Harry and Dumbledore turning around to see what he was moving towards. Ed kept tripping and nearly fell a few times, but he didn't care. He kept going as fast as he could until he was at the top of the hill, looking down at the people on the bottom of it.

He clearly recognized the shapes of Colonel Mustang, Lieutenant Hawkeye, and even Ling, but it was the last person that had him shocked. It was Al. His brother. In the flesh. He was sure of it, he was exactly as he saw in the gate. His eyes filled with tears and he stumbled towards them even faster than he had before, not able to take his eyes off of his little brother. At this point he was sprinting, ignoring the exhaustion threatening to make his body tumble to the ground.

"Brother?" Al called as he saw what clearly looked like Ed heading down a hill towards him. He was wearing strange clothes that looked like a uniform, and he seemed to be struggling in a way. Al pushed past Riza and Roy and went towards his brother, the two colliding in a huge hug.

"Al... it's actually you..." Ed sobbed into his shoulder and the two fell on their knees, still embracing as the bystanders watched with smiles. Nobody dared interrupt the moment of the brothers' reunion, they all knew this was something important.

"I thought I would never see you again brother... I was so scared..." Al said, looking up. Ed was staring at his face, observing every feature with a smile on his face.

"It's okay Al, I'm here now and so are you, that's all that matters. We can go home now, everything's going to be okay..."

"But what about your body? We still need to fix your limbs!"

"Eh, don't worry about that, I don't mind them. The main goal was to fix you, and I'm perfectly content with that now," Ed smiled. The two stood up and looked at their audience. While Roy and Riza looked relieved and happy, Harry and Dumbledore just looked confused.

"Sorry to break up the moment Ed, but who exactly are these people?" Harry asked.

"It's kind of a long story, but this is my brother Al," Ed began pointing at everyone individually, "this bastard is my commanding officer Colonel Mustang, and she's Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. Oh and that guy over there is Ling-"

"Greed!" he interrupted from afar, but Ed chose to ignore it for the time being.

"You see, we aren't exactly from here... in fact I guess you could call it a parallel world of sorts..." Ed rubbed his neck while Harry looked shocked, Dumbledore had a knowing and respectful look on his face.

"Yes, and we're here to take Ed home, especially now that his brother has been restored," Roy added.

"Actually...about that..." Ed looked away. "There's kind of something here that I need to do, I don't know exactly what it is, but there was a prophecy and everything that referred to me doing something at around this time. It's strange though, because there hasn't been any 'great evil force' or anything even remotely threatening happening around here..." he turned to Al and looked him in the eye. "So we can definitely go home after that, I just don't want to miss anything and end up letting anyone down. While we wait, you should go up to the hospital wing. With the magic they have here they could definitely make you better a lot faster."

"Okay brother, whatever has to be done has to be done. I'm happy no matter what happens, as long as we're together." With a smile Ed nodded and the people from both worlds slowly walked up to the castle. Dumbledore and Harry disappeared somewhere to find Professor Snape, and Ed led Al and the others to the hospital wing, explaining things as he went.

"Brother, what happened to you? When we were outside you looked really shaky and pale..."

"It's nothing Al, everything that happened is over now. I don't think there'll be any lasting effects, I'm just a little worn down." Once they entered the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey began treatment on Al immediately, working to fix his atrophied muscles. She also scolded them on how they could let the boy get so frail, but they chose to ignore her prying.

"Um, is there an E-Edward Elric in here?" a small first year asked, slowly opening the door. He looked petrified, and his eyes were darting all over the room.

"That would be me, who's asking?" Ed replied.

"T-there's someone out here that asked for you... and you better get out here fast..." the first year squeaked.

"Alright... I guess I'll be right back Al." Ed followed the first year out the door, who surprisingly dashed away as fast as he could. _'Weird...'_

As Ed stepped into the hall, he was stopped in his tracks by yet another familiar face.

"Hey short stuff," she walked towards him and licked her lips seductively, coming uncomfortably close.

"W-Winry?!"

Before he could react any more, she grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him close to her, kissing him full on the lips. Ed's eyes widened and his face was instantly red. After many long seconds, she pulled away and smirked.

"Missed me?"

* * *

A/N: Yay I'm back! It's finally summer and I just got through with a ton of finals...trips... etc. so sorry about that! At least we finally got our brotherly reunion! The story should be a couple more chapters, but things are about to get REALLY intense as you can probably tell. What do you think is going to happen? I'd love to hear from you guys, so any reviews would be awesome! Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed the story last time, you all really keep me motivated. :)

P.S. The convention was awesome and I got a picture with Tom and Vic and they were sooo nice! I got to spend more time with Vic though and he even did the Ed voice for me ahhhhh! (I was kinda fangirling the entire con wowowowoowowow but you guys probably understand if you're here reading this!)

P.S.S Did any of you guys figure out what I did with the last three chapter titles? It might be kinda dumb but for the whole rising action part I thought it'd be cool to put the steps to alchemy in reverse (understanding, deconstruction, reconstruction) so yeah...


	24. Strength

**Strength**

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

* * *

"Missed me?"

Ed, still shaken up from the sudden kiss, could only stand and stutter, at a complete loss for words.

"Oh don't be like that, I know you enjoyed it!" Winry smirked. She kept stepping towards him, getting so close that he was pushed against the wall.

Ed used the moment to fully look over her, noticing that she wasn't wearing her typical outfit, but was instead wearing a black dress, a shawl, long gloves, and a large amount of makeup. "You're not Winry," he scowled. From the start he knew something was wrong, this was horribly out of character for her. She would never suddenly flirt, let alone _kiss_ him.

"So dressing up all of a sudden makes me a horrible person?! Sorry for actually trying to look good for the person I've cared about for years!" "Winry" shouted, tears filling her eyes. Ed kept a blank face, now he was confident this wasn't her. This wasn't Winry's personality, she would have at least taken more time to be so open with him. Not to mention the fact that her being here would be completely illogical. How could she have gotten in the castle anyways? Ed was sure that the people he saw earlier didn't involve her. The only logical answer was Envy in disguise, which would make everything that just happened _horribly_ disgusting.

"They told me you were a smart one," she smiled, throwing off her shawl and pinning Ed to the wall with her arm. Ed's eyes grew as he saw the distinct Ouroboros tattoo on her chest. _'But Lust is dead! How could she be back?'_

"What you're doing is sick," Ed snarled in her face. "Making yourself look like Winry just to throw me off. I thought the homunculi were better than that."

"Oh sweetie… I'm not making myself look like your girl, this is really her body. You should hear what she's saying right now, she sure is a feisty one."

"How is that possible? Homunculi are artificially created, how could you _actually_ be her?"

"There are ways for a homunculus to possess a human body, just look at your prince friend, he's the same way with Greed. Too bad he decided to betray us and go on your side, I've heard he's quite the fighter."

This was bad, very bad. If that was actually Winry in front of him, how was he supposed to fight her? Anything he did to that body could harm her, and Ed would never forgive himself for that. If she really was still in there fighting, he would just have to make her gain control.

Before Ed could take any action, Lust shot one of her piercing fingernails though his shoulder, pinning him to the wall. He yelped from surprise and grit his teeth together, trying to get out of Lust's grasp. "I know you're supposed to be a sacrifice, but with so many powerful people here, you aren't really needed anymore. We could always replace you, I'm sure it'll be no big deal if I just…" She aimed another one of her fingers straight at Ed's throat, and touched it just enough that a small trickle of blood began dripping down.

Ed could see the purple of her eyes up close, and for a split second, he could see them flutter with hesitation and turn a shade of blue. He could tell Winry was fighting, but it wasn't enough, as her eyes turned purple once again. He was trapped, they were too far from the hospital wing for anyone to hear, and it was so late at night that all of the students were in their beds. There was no way this could be the end, he was so pathetic, barely putting up a fight.

" _Petrificus Totalus!"_ A voice suddenly called from the end of the hall. _'Well that was good timing…'_ Ed thought. The spell, however, did nothing to Lust, and she growled and pushed her finger closer to his throat. He knew Winry must be doing something, or else he'd already be dead.

"STOP!" The same voice yelled, running towards them. Once she came into view, Ed could see that it was Hermione, who soon pushed the homunculus away from him.

"Thanks," he gasped, clutching his throat.

"What _was_ that?!" Hermione asked, looking at the space were Lust had just been standing.

Assuming that Lust had ran off, Ed sighed in relief. "She was a homunculus, but usually they're artificially created..." Ed paused, thinking over what had just occurred. "Somehow, the Philosopher's stone containing the personality of Lust was placed in Winry, which is one of the worst possible things that could have happened. Her body will probably be able to heal, but we can't hurt her too bad. I guess have to find a way to get the stone out of her safely..." He looked at the ground, a troubled look on his face.

"Wait, who's Winry? Is she someone from the other side?"

"Yeah, we've practically known each other our whole lives, which is why this is so hard to do." Ed stood up, grabbing his bleeding shoulder. "We should tell the others, they're probably wondering what's taking me so long." Looking at Hermione's confused face, Edward realized that she was clueless to what had been happening all night. "Oh, right. A few of the people I know from Amestris were able to come here," he smiled.

Edward and Hermione quickly went back to the hospital wing, and Ed knew full well that everyone would try to fuss over him at first. There was no time for that though, because if the homunculi were involved with this world, they were all in trouble.

Right after the two entered the room, Ed knew that Roy could tell something was wrong. "What happened Fullmetal?! And why are you bleeding?!" Alphonse seemed to have been sleeping, but he opened his eyes immediately after hearing Roy's concerned tone.

Ed decided to get straight to the point. "Lust is here, and in the body of Winry. I don't know how or why, but we need to do something. Winry's still in there, I can tell." Roy cursed loudly and Alphonse looked at his brother with worry. Ed knew that Al was upset at the fact that he couldn't do anything to help, with being as weak as he was.

After a stifling silence, Greed decided to speak up. "The only way you'll be able to get the girl back to normal is if the stone is destroyed. Believe me, there's nothing I'd want more than to see them destroyed."

"Wait a second, earlier you said something about being Greed?" Ed asked, showing obvious speculation.

"Yeah, same situation as Lust. But don't worry, I'm not siding with Father and the other homunculi. Their ideas are dumb and I'd much rather lead my own group than be a follower in one. And before you ask, I'm _not_ the same Greed as before."

"I guess you got this far with that lot," Ed gestured to Roy and Riza, "so you shouldn't be _too_ bad. Do you know anything about what they're planning?"

"Nope," Greed already looked bored at the conversation. "They're all running around doing whatever, but I can tell you that Father is planning something pretty big. If he managed to make a new Lust and bring her here, I wouldn't be surprised if he and Envy are running around the castle as we speak."

As if on cue, the castle shook with the force of a large explosion. Roy began pulling on his gloves and heading towards the exit, but Riza stopped him before he got out the door. "We need a plan sir, we can't just go charging in without something in mind."

"You're right Lieutenant, but first we need to know what we're up against. Alphonse, you're going to have to stay here, I know you want to help but it'd be too dangerous with your current condition."

"I agree," Ed added. "After everything that's happened, you're finally back, and I don't want to lose you again," he smiled. Edward wished that he would be able to spend the time with his brother that they deserved after years of hard work, but he understood that the safety of the students in the castle was a more pressing matter at the moment.

"Fullmetal, you go with Greed, and I'll go with the Lieutenant. Report back once you find anything out, and _please_ try to avoid a fight. We all know how easy it is for you to get in them."

"I want to help too," Hermione interrupted. Nobody had even noticed her at first, with being too occupied with Ed.

"I'm sorry, but we should probably leave this to the military to take care of-" Riza started, before being cut off by Ed.

"Hermione can help. She's a good friend of mine and she's fantastic at magic. She's just as smart as an alchemist, if not more."

Roy looked like he was thinking over the situation, before finally glancing over at Riza, and then back to Hermione. "I suppose a little extra help wouldn't hurt. Just don't get her into any major trouble."

"Yeah yeah bastard, I'll be fine." Ed smiled. "And a welcome back would've been nice."

Roy smirked, "It's good to see you're okay Fullmetal, we were all very worried about you back at headquarters. But, we have work to do, so we'll all have a proper reunion when this mess is over."

"Fair enough, let's get going before this entire place blows up."

Ed began to head towards the door, and Greed stood up and reluctantly followed. " _I'm_ the leader of this little team, got it?"

"Whatever," Ed sighed, opening the door as Greed strode ahead, a triumphant look on his face.

"Fullmetal," Roy spoke up just as Ed put his foot out the door. "Don't go dying on us, the paperwork would be horrible."

Ed turned back to his superior officer, "The same goes for you. Bastard."

* * *

After returning the Amestirans to the hospital ward, Dumbledore and Harry decided to make haste to Dumbledore's office where they would meet up with Snape and get rid of the Horcrux. Dumbledore made sure to clarify that it was crucial the Horcrux was destroyed as soon as possible, before it started to create disastrous effects on people. Harry wasn't quite sure why Snape was needed for this, but he trusted Dumbledore.

The two were on their way thorough the long halls of Hogwarts, when suddenly Dumbledore stopped in his tracks, with Harry running into him from behind. He put a finger up to his lips and they put their backs to the wall, listening to what was occurring on the other side.

"We need to make the circle quickly, I want to get this done as soon as we can. With this much power radiating around the premises, sacrifices shouldn't be necessary. Envy, Lust, I have taught you both the necessary circle to create. Make one around the entire castle, that will be a good start before moving on to the rest of the wizarding locations. The power from this school should be enough to equal a small country, so I'll be equal to a god in no time!"

Dumbledore and Harry stood silent until they heard the two people walk out of range. Once they were sure they were gone, they both relaxed.

"It seems that an unknown threat has entered the castle, and things may be far worse than I can imagine. If these intruders are from the same place as Edward and his friends, we may be in a lot of trouble. We will have to put off the Horcrux for now, as long as it's in a safe spot. I'll contact the order for backup, but make sure to stay with me." Dumbledore said, clearly worried about the situation.

With that, Harry and Dumbledore rushed through the castle, notifying all the teachers of the situation. They went to make sure the students stayed in their dormitories, and they all agreed to assist with taking down whatever powerful force was trying to attack them. Apparently some of the Order was already familiar with the situation, having been told of creatures that couldn't be killed from Edward. Now all they could do was wait, and hope that something horrible wouldn't happen in the meantime.

* * *

After speeding through the castle without having any clue as to where he was going, Greed finally decided to let Ed and Hermione lead the way. He wasn't happy about it, but he learned his lesson after falling through 3 trick steps.

"Oh, Ed I completely forgot!" Hermione stopped running and turned towards Ed, pulling out her wand. "Your arm must still hurt, let me fix that."

"It's fine Hermione, I barely feel it," Edward reassured.

"Oh quit trying to act tough and just let me fix it!" She did a quick spell and suddenly the small gash in his arm healed up, and the dry blood left his skin and clothes as well.

"I'll still never understand how that's possible, but thanks."

The three continued their search through the castle, until they saw a student scratching something into the ground near the astronomy tower. Ed turned to glance at Hermione and Greed, knowing that something was out of place. All of the students were supposed to be in their dorms, so why would one be wandering around? Before Ed and Hermione could react, Greed stepped forward and activated his ultimate shield over his hand.

"Envy, what are you doing here?" Greed sneered as the student turned towards him, an innocent look on his face.

"What are you talking about?" The student said innocently, attempting to look startled.

"Cut the crap! Why are you here?"

"Now now, why in the world would I tell you? If I'm not wrong, you completely abandoned us and now you're working on their side! You lost your chance Greed, you could have had ultimate power and possessions by now, but you let your stupidity get in the way. Now take the pipsqueak and leave, before I'm forced to take more drastic measures." Envy then transformed back into his usual form, with long greenish hair flowing over his shoulders.

Ed stepped forward next to Greed, "If you think we're just going to walk away and let you carry on with your plans then you really don't know us at all." He then clapped his hands and turned his automail arm into its traditional blade. "Step back Hermione, magic doesn't affect them."

Hermione looked hesitant to back away, as she felt that she could help, but Edward was right. She wasn't very skilled as a physical fighter, and magic was her strongest weapon. Before she fully backed off, Hermione thought of all the situations Harry found himself in, and mentally scolded herself for not thinking sooner. ' _Even if I'm not using magic directly, it could definitely come to my advantage. I can use magic to manipulate my surroundings, that would definitely help in a fight!'_

"I can help, just let me work from the side," she smiled, pulling out her wand. With that, Ed and Greed ran towards Envy, bearing their weapons. Though Envy kept dodging their attacks, the two working together definitely had an advantage. Ed knew that it would be almost impossible to kill the homunculus, but he was determined to stop the plan Envy was scheming. Every time Envy almost hurt Ed, Hermione made sure to create a shield charm in time. She was also flinging objects as a distraction, and with every heavy astronomy item that was flung at Envy, he became slower. The three were working great as a team, gradually annoying Envy with every strike.

"ENOUGH!" Envy roared, causing the three to pause. "Now is not the time to play this little game with you all. As much as I'd love to torture every one of you, I have a job to do." He then proceeded to stretch out his arm until it was around Hermione's throat, walking forward and ignoring Ed's frantic yells and attacks. "If you _don't_ want me to snap her little neck like a bug, I'd recommend backing off." Envy smirked. "Leave us alone, and the girl stays safe. Interfere, and I guarantee you'll never hear from her again." He squeezed her neck tighter until her wind pipe was completely cut off, and she struggled from beneath his arm. Ed and Greed immediately stopped trying to attack Envy, and he loosened his grip, allowing Hermione to breathe.

"Good, we won't have a problem then." Envy then released Hermione and she fell to the floor coughing. Before any of them could stop him, Envy had already escaped, leaving them alone in a room full of broken possessions.

"Damn it!" Ed yelled. "We were so close..."

"Sorry for not being able to do anything else, if it wasn't for me you may have won," Hermione sighed.

"It's not your fault, Envy's near impossible to harm. The bastard once managed to break my arm and ribs in one go and I didn't even leave a mark."

"We still need to catch him," Greed sighed, stepping forward. "I'll go ahead to try to find him, we can't waste any more time." Greed then ran out of the room, leaving Hermione and Ed behind.

"I knew he wouldn't last long," Ed sighed. He then looked down and realized that Hermione was still on the ground. He reverted his blade and then held out a hand to her, helping her up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, we should probably go back to those military people though and tell them what happened, they'd probably want to know that another homunculus is causing trouble."

"You're right, the more backup we have, the better. They're not going to go down without a fight."

* * *

Winry was freaking out. On one hand, she was extremely relieved that she had been lied to about Ed being tortured, and she was very glad that he was okay. On the other hand, after just discovering his predicament, she had involuntarily harmed him, and could have possibly killed him. She knew she wasn't responsible, but just watching her body do those horrible actions was enough to make anyone sick. She had begged and begged for Lust to stop, but she hadn't even managed to sway the homunculus at all. Winry felt like a failure, someone who wasn't even strong enough to control their own body. She's the one that agreed to this whole thing in the first place. If all of her friends were harmed or killed, wouldn't that make her responsible?

She watched as Lust discussed the plans with Father, and was now rushing to create the circle around the castle, in the opposite direction as Envy. Winry absolutely hated this feeling of uselessness, which made her even more determined to take control. If she could somehow regain control of her body, she'd be able to warn the others of what Father was planning. She was glad that Ed could tell she was still inside though, as she saw the caring look in his eyes. A proud feeling rushed through her as she remembered how he refused to harm her, even when her body was capable of healing. Outside of that steel demeanor, he really was just softie who cared about others more than himself.

Lust steadily proceeded in sketching out her half of the circle, operating at swift pace. Winry knew that she would be done soon, which meant she only had a limited amount of time to take over. The least she could do was distract Lust from her work, but she couldn't figure out her weaknesses. She had no idea how a newly created being could be so monotone, just obeying orders without any personal input or individuality. Nonetheless, Winry was determined to save her friends. She would fight with all she had.

* * *

Roy and Riza walked with purpose down the winding corridors of Hogwarts, searching for any unusual activity. Neither said a word, but both could anticipate the other's actions with ease. This was how they worked best. Ever since the Ishvalan war, they had been working as an inseparable team. While Roy trudged forward in a path of destruction, Riza followed, protecting her superior. It was almost as if they could read each other's minds, knowing everything that made the other tick. Riza was determined to keep Roy off a dangerous road, and always knew how to ease him of his impulsive nature.

During the long period that Edward was missing, she could tell that Roy was very unsteady. He had lost his momentum, so when she saw him so motivated marching through the castle, she knew he was back to his normal ways. He had begun to look at the boy as a son, and even though he never said it out loud, Riza knew he cared about him very much.

Suddenly, Roy stopped in his tracks, looking around quickly.

"Sir? Is something wrong?" Riza asked, concerned.

"I could have sworn that I saw something..." Roy said. As fast as the blink of an eye, a shadow darted across the corner, and Riza had just managed to spot it.

"Down the left hallway Colonel, there was a shadow." Roy nodded and the two ran to try to catch up to the quick movement. Roy positioned his hand to snap, and Riza held her gun in a precautionary way, clicking off the safety. They had been running towards a dead end, which meant that whoever they were chasing would be trapped. As they rounded the corner, the annoyed figure of Envy faced them.

"Ugh! Not _more_ of you. This is getting _so_ tiring."

Roy held his hand forward, prepared to snap. He wouldn't hesitate to foil the homunculi's plans.

"And what do you think you can do with that? You _do_ know I'll just heal again, right? You're wasting your time."

"Tell me what you're planning, or else I'll snap, and it won't be pretty. Need reference? Ask the other one I fried to dust." Roy sneered.

"Ha! That didn't work out too well for you though, did it? If I recall correctly, that very same homunculus is walking around the castle just as I am. Face it, you can't defeat us, and you never will," Envy laughed.

Roy snapped and watched as Envy went up in flames for a few seconds, which soon died down.

"Do you really want to test me? Even if you could be brought back, I don't think you'd be able to interfere any time soon."

"The look on your face is priceless! Is that how you looked when your little buddy bit the dust? What was his name again? Maes Hughes?" Envy smiled.

Roy hesitated, his cold expression turning into one of shock. "You... weren't the one that killed him, were you? If you were I swear you'll be dead before you even have a chance to explain yourself."

"Now that you think about it, your face looks exactly like his did! I suppose he was a bit more surprised, after all, he had just been forced to watch his _own wife_ shoot him!"

Roy's shocked expression turned to one so cold and evil that Riza had to take a second look to remember who she was staring at. This wasn't Roy, this was a man driven by revenge. "Sir, I think you should calm-" before she had the chance to finish her sentence, he was snapping wildly, sending the homunculus up in flames. He was snapping with both hands so quickly that Envy didn't even have a chance to move. Riza knew that the homunculus had to be killed, but not like this. This wasn't stopping a villain, it was a personal grudge filled with hatred.

Riza continued to try to stop Roy, but it seemed that he had completely tuned her out. "Colonel please-" She started again, but to no avail. He was being blinded by rage, and she knew this was the path she had to prevent him from going down.

"ROY! STOP THIS!" she yelled, knowing that using his name would trigger something in his mind. The situation was no longer professional, it was personal. Roy paused, looking over at Riza with an unchanging expression. Envy had been reduced to the small form of a lizard by now, on the very verge of death. Now that she had his attention, Riza continued to speak. "I can continue the rest, if you don't stop I'll be forced to stop you on my own. Remember why we're here, the others wouldn't want to see you like this, would they? Please Colonel, I know he must be stopped, but I think it'll be best to leave it to purely for the reason of saving those within the area." Riza pulled out her gun, pointing it towards Roy. "I won't let you become someone you aren't."

Roy seemed to soften a bit, but before he could react, Riza pointed her gun towards Envy and shot, not giving Roy a chance to do so. The homunculus fell and gradually turned to dust, leaving nothing in its place. With this, Roy seemed to calm, and he lowered his hands. "Thanks Lieutenant..."

Riza quickly put away her gun and turned away, walking back towards where they came. "Let's carry on, there are people waiting for us."

* * *

The castle was in chaos. The Order was on their way, but Father was creating destruction everywhere he went. Snape and Draco had managed to flee back to the other members of the staff, but the two made sure to report just how powerful the group of intruders were. The teachers seemed to be keeping their distance while waiting for the Order, and the students were getting frustrated in their dorms. Though it was horrible, Draco couldn't help but think that this was a blessing in disguise. Either way, whether it was death eaters or these people, the castle was in distress and confusion. It would make it much easier to get rid of Dumbledore, all he would have to do is find him.

With the teachers trying to keep the castle guarded, many of the students had managed to sneak out of their houses. Almost the entirety of Dumbledore's Army was now roaming the castle, oblivious to the fact that their magic wouldn't be able to stop the one they were looking for.

As for the Amestrians, Edward and Hermione had just managed to reunite with Roy and Riza.

"Colonel!" Ed yelled as he spotted the pair down the hall. "Envy's here too, apparently they're all working on creating a huge transmutation circle!"

"Yes Edward, we know." Riza held up her hand, stopping Ed's rambling. "We actually just ran into him, but he's taken care of now."

Ed looked between the Colonel and Lieutenant and soon realized the grim look on their faces. He knew something must have happened, but he wasn't willing to ask. As long as Envy was gone, the story could be explained later.

"We should find Father, it shouldn't be hard, all we need to do is follow the explosions." Ed suggested. The four continued on towards the Great Hall, not stopping for anything or anyone. This was where all the commotion was coming from, so surely it was where Father was. However, they were so distracted on their path they they didn't realize the slowly growing group of students following them, trying to get to the center of attention. It wasn't until they reached the Great Hall doors that they saw all of the witches and wizards that had been in their shadow.

"What the hell are all of you doing?" Ed yelled. He spotted two redheads in the group, knowing that they must be Ron and Ginny. Aside from them, there was Luna, Neville, and most of the members of Dumbledore's Army that he had met. Ed knew it was pointless to barter with this crew, as they wouldn't lose their loyalty for anything.

"You really didn't think we'd sit back while all the fun was happening, did you? You've even got Hermione with you!" Ron said while Hermione blushed.

"You don't understand," Ed sighed. "You can't hurt these people with magic, they're incredibly powerful."

"And who exactly _are_ these people you're talking about? I've never seen those two before either," Ginny said, gesturing towards Roy and Riza.

Ed squirmed uncomfortably, knowing he'd probably have to explain his situation many times. There was no point in keeping it from them though, with everything that was going on.

"Me, those two, and the ones destroying the castle are all from a parallel universe of sorts, which includes alchemy and artificial people who can't be killed, which is unfortunately who we're facing." The entire crowd looked startled except for Luna, who only smiled. "Since none of you have official fighting experience, I'd recommend you don't follow us."

"We're still going to stick with you Ed, and you too Hermione, we'd never leave you behind." Ron smiled. Ed groaned and turned to open the doors to the Great Hall. He didn't have the time to argue with everyone, he just had to hope that they'd have the common sense to not do anything rash. If anything, he was reminded of his own stubborn nature, and he knew he'd never back down if he was in that position.

The group walked in, preparing for the worst. What they hadn't been anticipating was an empty room. Ed looked around, trying to see a sign of Father, but it was as if a storm had blown through and then ceased to exist. They all stood in silence, not knowing how to move forward from this. If Father wasn't here, then where could he be?

Just as Ed was about to announce a retreat, the ground rumbled, and pieces of it rose to pin down everyone, including himself. Father walked in from behind the walls of the other entrance, a blank expression on his face and red lightning crackling around his feet. The group struggled, but none of them could make a budge in the stone pushing them to the ground. Ed was stuck so that he couldn't clap his hands, let alone lift them. Riza was the same way, and Roy was pinned in a way that prevented any part of his hands from moving.

"Well that sure was simple," Father chuckled. "You all seemed to walk right into my little trap. I expected more from the alchemists, but I suppose not all of us can anticipate the other's actions. Luckily, all of you will be able to be my sacrifices, and contribute to my soon to be godly power. You shouldn't be ashamed, if anything you should be honored to be a part of changing the world!" The group all grimaced and continued to struggle, especially after the revelation of being sacrifices.

Before long, Lust had walked into the room, gripping Harry Potter with one hand and Dumbledore with the other. "Ah, perfect!" Father smiled. "The strongest wizard of all time joins us, what a perfect example of power! With your sacrifice alone, I'll hold incredible strength!"

Ed noticed that Dumbledore wasn't struggling one bit, if anything he looked calm, as if he knew he was in no danger. Lust threw Harry to the ground next to the others and he was pinned down immediately, while Father didn't even flinch. Lust handed over Dumbledore to Father, and he held him in a headlock while using alchemy to mold his legs into the ground. Lust then proceeded to steal the wand out of everyone's pocket, gathering up a rather impressive haul. As she neared Edward, he made sure to look into her eyes, knowing the Winry was in there fighting.

"Winry, I know you can hear me," he said calmly, while she looked back at him with a sneer on her face. "Fight, you have it in you. You're the strongest girl I know, and if anyone can get us out of this, you can." The sneer dropped from her face and her eyes flashed blue for a short second before going back to purple. She scoffed and turned away and Edward's face fell, he was certain she'd be able to break free. As she walked back towards Father, however, she gripped her head and sank to her knees.

"Shut _UP_ you little bitch!" she yelled, still holding her head. All of a sudden, her arms dropped, and she stood back up. This time, her eyes were blue.

Ed smiled as he looked back at Winry. _This_ was the Winry he knew. However, she didn't smile back, instead, she continued to walk towards Father. Just what was she planning?

Ed noticed that she made sure not to make eye contact with Father, and she still held the expression and posture that Lust did. "Is everything alright Lust? Stop dilly dallying and focus!"

"Sorry, it was just that annoying girl this body belongs to blabbering again. I managed to shut her up though."

This made sense, Winry was still playing the part of Lust until she had her chance to jump in and help. She was definitely smart and rational, Ed was sure of that.

Winry handed the wands back to Father, and he set them down in the place where the center of the circle was. By transmuting the wands along with the people, it would create an effect twice as large. However, Ed noticed she had kept one of the wands, hiding it in her dress. While Father was preoccupied with the circle and the transmutation calculations, she tossed the wand to Ed, and he managed to catch it and slide it under himself. Although he couldn't use magic at the moment, he could definitely use the wand to scratch a transmutation circle into the stone, allowing him to alchemically escape. He began working on the circle right away, and luckily Father didn't notice.

As Ed worked on the circle and Father perfected his plan, the doors swung open and Snape and Draco walked in, moving straight towards Father.

' _Oh great,'_ Ed thought, _'why do_ these _lunatics have to get involved?'_

They spotted Dumbledore in Father's clutch, and Father looked up to face them, a smile on his face. "Fantastic! Now we have two more sacrifices! To think that some people are foolish enough to walk to their doom instead of escaping!"

Dumbledore looked at Snape and nodded, as if giving a signal. Before Father was able to trap the two, Snape held out his wand towards Dumbledore. "To think that _some people_ are foolish enough to rely on a small group of wizards for their success. _Avada Kedavra."_ A green light shot in Dumbledore's location, and upon impact, he slumped down, unmoving.

At that moment, chaos erupted. Harry stared in shock and many students screamed, while a few started crying. Ed, though horrified at what had ensued, activated his circle and broke out of his bonds. It was at this moment that the Order of the Phoenix entered with the many teachers of Hogwarts, having followed the screams and cries of the students. Though many were having a hard time comprehending what had just happened, they all knew they needed to defeat the monster before them before he could cause any more harm. Before Father could react to the havoc occurring around him, Ed clapped his hands and freed all of the students, sending a wave of stone towards Father.

The many witches and wizards stood behind Ed, like a small army ready to take the homunculus down. Greed had entered as well, and he activated his entire ultimate shield.

"I just had an interesting thought," Ed said, turning to the large group. "Although one person's magic can't harm him, what if everyone fired at once? On my mark, everyone shoot as many destructive spells as you can. Colonel, Lieutenant, you know what to do."

Father stood up with an expression of rage on his face, red sparks covering the floor beneath him.

"NOW!" Ed screamed, running forwards. Every magical person in the area had begun shooting multiple spells at the homunculus, creating mini explosions. Colonel Mustang sent off his flames, and Lieutenant Hawkeye shot her many guns. Greed had charged forward, slicing at Father, while Ed clapped his hands and sent multiple spears towards him. It was working, as the red sparks used for healing hadn't ceased. Though Father was creating multiple shields to defend himself, the many spells and attacks bore right through them. He no longer bared resemblance to Hohenheim, instead, he was monstrous looking, covered in darkness and many eyes.

"STOOOP!" he screamed, sending a large wave of power out towards everyone attacking him. It caused many to crash into the walls, and most tumbled to the ground. "You puny humans cannot stop me from my plans!" He was very obviously weakened, running out of souls in his Philosopher's stone. He walked towards Winry and grabbed her arm, keeping her from running away. "It's for a good cause Lust, contribute to your creator!" He then stuck his free hand into her stomach, causing her to gasp in pain. The souls and power from the Philosopher's stone drained from Winry into him, until soon no part of Lust remained. As Winry sunk to her knees, the Ouroboros tattoo on her chest faded away.

As soon as he regained the extra power, Father bent down and slammed his hands to the ground, causing red light to fill the room. A large eye opened up in the center of the circle, and small black arms began to rise up from the ground. It looked exactly like Ed's human transmutation, and he knew they were all doomed if he didn't do something.

While everyone clutched their chests, struggling for breath, Ed continued to run towards the source of the danger. ' _I may be an idiot, but if these are my last moments, I'd much rather them be trying to save my friends than dying a meaningless death.'_

Though he was on the verge of blacking out, with a pain growing in his chest that prevented him from breathing, Edward had never felt more alive. He gripped the wand he had used to free himself in one hand, and used the other to clap. He put everything he had into the reaction, every piece of alchemic energy and every ounce of magic. He used his last bit of strength, and sent it all towards Father. A gold light filled the room, so bright and large that it kept everyone from seeing. The light crashed right into Father, resulting in an earsplitting yell. At once, every soul that he had ever collected burst from his mouth.

"Nice try, but nobody messes with the people I love," Ed grinned, staring into the eyes of the awe-struck homunculus. He pulled back his fist and punched with all his might. Father, as if made of glass, shattered into a million pieces of golden light, soon dissolving into the air.

The transmutation had ended, and everyone was left staring at the place where the homunculus once stood. Nobody said a word, and Ed straightened up and turned towards the crowd. For a moment, everything was silent, but soon the room was filled with cheers and smiles, with everyone hugging one another out of relief. They had all been horrified that they were going to die, so it was understandable how happy they all seemed. Ed smiled as he saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione all hugging one another, reuniting after the horror of the day caught up with them. He watched as McGonagall went to retrieve Dumbledore's body, with an expression of sorrow and respect.

Ed noticed that Draco and Snape had slid out of the room, but the way he saw it, Dumbledore looked like he had known what was going to happen all along.

"Nice job, alchemy freak," Winry smiled as she walked to stand beside him.

"I could say the same for you, gearhead," Ed smiled back.

"I don't know about you, but after this I think I'd enjoy a bit of peace and quiet," Winry sighed.

"I'd like that," Ed replied. "But first, there's something you need to see."

Ed grabbed her hand and pulled her from the chaotic room to the hospital wing, stopping in front of the door. "Take a look." He opened the door with a dramatic gesture and let her walk inside.

After spotting Al, she put a hand over her mouth, tears running down her face. "Al, you're back... you did it!"

"And I see you did it too brother," Al smiled, looking at the battle worn Ed.

"Yep, I've definitely had enough excitement for a lifetime," Edward grinned. "Let's go home, we've waited long enough."

* * *

A few days after the excitement with Father, everything seemed to be semi-normal. The teachers had cleaned up the Great Hall, and they were all preparing for Dumbledore's funeral. The worry wasn't over yet, though. Harry Potter and his friends were preparing for their hunt for Horcruxes, to defeat their own world's villain. As for Edward and the Amestrians, they still had to return home, and take care of the last remaining homunculi. Alphonse had improved greatly though, as magic had increased his recovery from all his years in the gate. Ed had also given him all of the letters he had written throughout the year, knowing that Al would be happy to be able to read about everything his brother had been doing while he was gone.

Edward, Alphonse, Riza, Roy, and Greed all stood in the Great Hall, ready to return to Amestris. The transmutation circle had already been drawn, all they had to do now was say their goodbyes.

"I guess I'll see you later then," Ed said to Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

"We'll miss you Ed," Harry smiled.

"You'd better come visit!" Hermione added.

"I will, promise." Ed assured. He bent down towards the circle, clapped his hands, and watched as the others returned through the gate, leaving only him. Ed stepped forward into the reaction, and looked at his friends. He was definitely going to miss this place and all the memories he had made, Hogwarts had become a second home to him.

"Until next time."

* * *

A/N: THAT'S A WRAP! Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this! It means so much to me that you've all gotten enjoyment out of it! I'm definitely sad to see it go, this story has been a part of me since January! To everyone that has been here since the beginning, I'm so grateful that you stuck with me through all the infrequent updates and occasional cringe. To everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited, you all gave me the support I needed to carry on and finish this, so thank you so much. I'd love to hear what you all thought of the finale and the story as a whole! I'll definitely write more in the future, so keep on the lookout for that!

~Bye for now :D


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